Fate's Recipe
by LyricalKris
Summary: Bella is a young girl trying to make a life for herself in a land of Knights and Kings when she meets a beautiful boy. Can they find a happy life together when his family can destroy them both? AH/AU
1. Extended Prologue

**Extended Prolog**

**A/N: This was written as a one shot for the Once Upon a Twilight contest on FF. The story kind of gained a mind of this own and now this chapter resembles a VERY lengthy prolog of the story it has become. :)**

**View the other entries here: .net/u/2009160/#**

**Twilight is very obviously not mine.  
**

***

In the land of Paciwest, in the city of Forkshire, in the deepest part of night, two fairies approached the great guild hall, unseen by human eyes. They were quick little things, going about a fairies' business which tonight included the blessing of a newborn human child.

The fairies flew up the stone walls toward a window, cracked open in the summer heat, on the third floor of the hall, into a bedroom where a couple slept in each other's arms. They smiled down upon the sleeping couple – the guild's goodly leader Carlisle and his wife, Esme – before flitting to the cradle that stood at the side of the bed.

He was awake, but quiet. His deep green eyes seemed to follow the fairies luminescence though he could not yet focus on them. The fairies, no taller than the length of the baby's arms and light as a single feather, came to rest on the child's chest. He offered them a lopsided grin – surprising for a babe only days old.

"He certainly needs no blessing of beauty," the first said.

The second was silent, seeing things in the baby's eyes that had not yet happened, trying to find the right gift. After a moment she smiled and said a few words over the child in an ancient language.

"Fate," the first fairy called out her sister's name in surprise, "what kind of a blessing is that?"

Fate only smiled knowingly, and with a final caress of the child's cheek she flew upwards and out the open window. "A sweet tooth," her sister grumbled, catching up to her quickly. "It's not much of a gift. I hope you know what you're doing."

Again, Fate smiled. She always did.

***

21 Years On

"Dear, wake up. We're almost there."

Isabella Swan opened her eyes gradually, confused, at first, as to why her bed was rocking and the room was shaking. She blinked rapidly, her brain trying to catch up with the present.

Gradually, she remembered. She was in a wagon shared by several other passengers, including the kindly Mrs. Cope who'd awaken her just now. Mrs. Cope was on her way back to her husband and children in Forkshire. Bella had just left her home of 17 years to go live with her father and, as her mother put it, make her mark on the world.

Bella had been happy where she was, sharing a home in the middle of nowhere with her mother. She'd helped maintain a farm and they had lived off the produce and money from baked goods her mother often carted into town. But, this winter, her flighty mother had met a gypsy. She'd married him in spring and now it was summer. Renee had followed her gypsy, leaving Bella what little money she had accumulated from life and the sale of their land to another farmer.

It had been Bella's choice. Her mother had offered to stay, only seeing her husband when he passed through their part of the world, a few times a year. Seeing the pained look that had passed through her mother's eyes, Bella couldn't bring herself to ask Renee to stay, as much as she'd wanted to.

Though she'd only seen her father a few times in her life, Bella had written and requested to stay with him. Charles was the chief guardsman to the King of Forkshire and had lived alone since his hearth wife had absconded with their infant daughter.

_Well, _Bella assured herself for the thousandth time, _it won't be so bad. _

About an hour later she was riding beside her father, her horse saddled with the two small bags she'd brought with her. "Fa," she said, not recognizing where her father was leading her, "Have you moved since last time?"

Charles did not look at her as he spoke. "I have a surprise for you before we head home."

They turned into the main part of town and down a street just off the main square. Charles pulled to a stop in front of a slightly run down, very empty shop. "Here we are," he said by way of explanation.

Bella blinked, confused. "Here we are…for what?"

"You wrote that you thought you might bake to pay your way. That you thought you might like a business of your own…" Charles said, sounding a little unsure of himself.

"Wait – this shop-," Bella cut herself off, unable to form the words.

"All yours," Charles said, offering her a small smile. "There's a girl, Angela, who has offered to help you run it. I'll help you until you're on your feet."

If they had been a different father and daughter she might have jumped into his arms, but that was not Bella's way. As it was she murmured a fervent, "Thank you."

"Well, now," Charles said gruffly, "You're welcome."

They were both blushing slightly at the emotion they felt, but neither acknowledged it. Instead, they turned their horses toward home.

Waiting outside was a familiar looking, russet-skinned man about Charlie's age and an unfamiliar, younger russet-skinned man who held the leashes of three gigantic dogs. Bella gawked at the creatures. They were bigger than any dogs she'd ever seen; closer to wolves and nearly as wild looking.

Charles dismounted, unphased by the abnormal animals. "William," he greeted the older man. "Bella, do you remember William Black? He's the King's Master of Hounds."

"Hounds!?" Bella gasped, finding her voice. "These seem more like monsters than hounds."

The three men chuckled at her reaction. "They've been fed a special elixir since they were much younger. It makes them stronger, faster – regenerative even," said the youngest man as Bella carefully dismounted her horse. "Sam Uley," he introduced himself. "I'm William's apprentice."

Remembering her manners finally, Bella extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." After they shook hands Bella turned to William. "And it's nice to see you again, I do remember."

William took her hand, chuckling again when he saw her wary gaze at the three animals. "They're well trained. They're more like puppies unless you smell like a threat. Just put your hand, palm out, and let them smell you."

Noticing her father watching and not wanting to appear cowardly in front of him, Bella bit her lip, extending her hand tentatively as instructed. The three dogs lurched forward, pressing their muzzles to Bella's palm. Surprised by the wetness of their snouts, Bella couldn't help but laugh.

"Embry," Sam pointed to the grey furred dog, then to the chocolate brown dog, "Quil, and-,"

He was cut off with the last dog, the biggest of the bunch with thick, red-brown fur started to struggle at his leash. Caught off guard, Sam couldn't keep hold of the monster and it reared up, coming down with its paws on Bella's shoulders. She gasped but before she could scream, the beast licked her from chin to forehead and let out a happy bark.

William was the first to react as he went from chuckles to a deep, rumbling laughter. "Jacob remembers you!" he managed between laughs.

"Jacob," Sam said in a commanding voice. "Down."

Seeming reluctant, Jacob got down and rejoined his place with the small pack.

"Jacob," Bella said when she was sure her voice wouldn't shake. "As in, the little puppy I played with five years ago? He was tiny."

"Thing change," Charles said, watching Bella. His eyes were shining with pride.

The next day, after a quiet breakfast, Charles headed to the palace and Bella off into town to inspect her shop. She sat in the middle of the small, empty space, staring at the bare walls and counters, just imagining what could be done. It was the first thing she could call her own, and while her father might help her now, she daydreamed of the day when all she had was a product of her own work and skill.

A knock and the door being pushed open interrupted Bella's planning. "Hello?" came a woman's voice. Bella looked up to see a girl about her own age standing in the doorway. Her face was almost pretty, but marred with heavy creases that might have looked more at home on a very old woman, and a wart on the tip of her nose, and another on her chin. Most startlingly of all she carried a full grown newt on her shoulder. "My name's Jessica. You must be Isabella Swan."

"Bella," Bella corrected timidly. She had seen enough travelers to know from the girl's appearance, the patterns of her robes and the belt around her waist that hid slim vials, that she was a witch. Angering a witch was never a wise idea, and so Bella was automatically wary.

Jessica insisted on taking Bella to lunch at the local tavern, several blocks away. She suggested they walk, which Bella suspected was more because Jessica wanted as much time to get as much information out of Bella as was possible than for any other purpose. But Bella's life proved moderately uninteresting and so Jessica started to show off her knowledge of the town. She knew, she assured Bella more than once, absolutely everything about absolutely everybody.

She rambled about the king's newest knights, Eric, who she did not fancy but she suspected fancied her, Tyler, who she did like, and Ben who showed more interest in Angela than Jessica. "Not that I care," Jessica had sniffed, but Bella was quite sure she did.

As they exited the tavern a huge stone building caught Bella's eye. It was about three stories, but very wide, set far to the back of a lawn that Bella was quite sure could easily host a King's championship tournament. From the top of the hall hung two black banners displaying on them a silver crest with a hand, palm out, above a lion and a ribbon lined with shamrocks running beneath that. "What is that place?" Bella asked.

"That is the Cullen House. Oh! You'll love this story," Jessica squealed with delight.

"The Cullens are a guild. They are like protectors to the people. You know – when a dragon needs slaying, or a band of brigands needs to be put to justice, that kind of thing.

"The guild leader, Carlisle Cullen, was once a member of the Volturi. Do you know of Volterra?" Jessica inquired. Bella nodded. She knew of the city, ten times the size of Forkshire half the world away and ruled by a powerful band of humans called the Volturi. "Well," Jessica continued, "Carlisle was trained to be a cleric there, but he fell in love with one of the Volterran Princesses, Esme. Esme is the daughter of Aro, the leader of Volterra and the Volturi. Though he was fond of Carlisle he did not approve of the marriage, of course, it gained him nothing," Jessica scoffed.

"So about 25 years ago Carlisle and Esme came here. They were married by Angela's father actually. Now there are around 30 or so members of the guild, many of whom live in that hall," she said with a satisfied grin. When Bella did not immediately respond she turned to notice that Bella wasn't looking at her at all. "Bella," Jessica said, testy, "Are you listening?"

"Yes," Bella assured her, distracted by the sight in front of her. Truly Jessica's story had been fascinating, but as she spoke four figures had exited the guild hall. There was one girl and three boys and they all wore a tunic with the Cullen crest. The girl, a waif of a thing in a well-fitted dress, had spiky black hair and carried a thin staff, almost as tall as she was, that had a clear globe atop. The hand not carrying the staff was twined with one of the boys. He was much taller than her, the tallest of the foursome in fact, but somehow she fit by his side. He had a head of wavy blonde hair and what looked to a lyre strapped to his back. Beside him was the biggest boy, well, man really. Bella had once seen an ogre from a distance and she suspected the monster would not have much on this man. Wide across the shoulders and with bulging muscles she could see well even from this distance, the man had curly brown hair and a very big, thick looking sword at his waist.

But, though they were all beautiful, it was the last that Bella found herself staring at, unable to look away. She had heard travelers tell tales of the gods and how they appeared in human form – almost too stunning to look at. Surely this boy, this man with wild, copper colored hair and a lithe, strong build could not be merely human. "Who are they?" she managed to ask, her voice not much more than a whisper.

As Jessica looked over the god-like one looked up, his eyes on Jessica at first but quickly flitting to Bella. Their gaze held for the space of two heartbeats before they both looked hurriedly away. Bella felt her heart begin to flutter fast as a hummingbirds wings and thought wildly that Jessica must have cast some kind of spell on her to make her react this way, but when she looked toward the girl, Jessica only had a knowing, not malevolent, smirk on her face.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," she said. She pointed out each of them in turn. "Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale are engaged to be married in the fall. Emmett Cullen is married to Jasper's twin sister Rosalie." Bella couldn't help but notice how Jessica's face nearly turned red with envy as she spit the name. "And that is Edward Cullen," Jessica finished. "He's not attached but he doesn't look at girls. He doesn't look at boys either. My friend Lauren thinks he's a eunuch."

Chancing a glance at the boy Bella could have sworn he was grimacing with irritation, running a hand through his messy hair. Bella found herself wishing fervently that it was her hand instead and wondered again what was wrong with her.

"Emmett, Edward and Alice are Carlisle and Esme's children, but they are also members of the guild," Jessica continued though Bella hadn't asked. "Anyway, come on. You need supplies and I can introduce you to Tyler and Eric along the way," she said merrily, grabbing Bella's hand and towing her down the street. Trying to ignore her disgust at the boils on Jessica's hand, Bella cast one more look over her shoulder at the Cullen's retreating figures.

***

3 weeks on

Edward had been, nonchalantly he thought, passing in front of Bella Swan's bakery for the last three weeks as she readied it for opening. Four days ago, much to Edward's chagrin, his older brother had figured out just what about his daily walk really interested him.

"You need to stop obsessing Edward, get over things, like I do. So her thoughts are quiet to you, what of it? She is just a girl," Emmett said with his usual flippant attitude.

Fighting back an illogical wave of defensiveness and annoyance at Emmett's careless dismissal, Edward again tried to piece together how Bella had gotten around his talent. He possessed the gift that so far not one of his peers, relatives or enemies had been able to thwart – nobody until he'd caught Bella staring at him across the square. Curious, he had opened his mind to the thoughts around him. He had heard Emmett's and Jasper's preoccupation with the sparring match they were heading toward, he heard Alice mentally revising the design of her bridesmaid's dresses, he heard Jessica Stanley's less than generous opinion on Bella's league versus his own – but from the fair-skinned maiden with thick mahogany hair and deep, wide eyes he heard nothing.

Edward chuffed lightly. "I've never come across a spell, an elixir – anything that could make a mind go silent. I want to know how she does it."

"Your chances of figuring it out increase exponentially if you, I don't know, talk to the girl!" his brother's tone held a hint of exasperation.

As they rounded the corner the shop came in sight. He hadn't noticed he'd started to walk faster, but Emmett did. _Wait – does he fancy her?_

That thought brought Edward up short. "Fancy her? I've never met her!" he protested.

"You should go in then. No reason not to."

"I'm not going in the shop Emmett. What would be…what. What is THAT?" Edward exclaimed.

A dozen or so yards away from the bakery the air had become absolutely permeated with the most delectable smell Edward had ever encountered. It was fresh baked bread, sweets and a blend of spices all mingling into a divine scent that made his mouth water. He had never felt so close to drooling than he did at that moment. His mind automatically conjured a thousand ways to taste what he was smelling – biting into a pastry, its flaky pieces coming off in his mouth; sponge-like and crumbly like the finest cake; drizzled chocolate pooling on his tongue.

"I should go in," Edward said, walking even faster now toward the tantalizing aroma.

"Hell," Emmett laughed, "If you're not, I am!"

Inside the bakery Bella stood with her back to the Cullen boys, cutting small slices of what looked like pound cake and adding them to a sampler platter. To her side, equally wrapped up in their work, Angela Weber was adding a light, strawberry tinged glaze to a row of pastries. They were mid-conversation, apparently talking about the King's upcoming visit to the war-torn town of Saudrea. Instead of his usual guardsmen, the King had opted to hire the Cullens as an escort. Edward and a handful of others were expected to leave two mornings hence.

"I just don't understand why the guard isn't enough," Bella was saying. Even in his near desperation to get to one of the thin wafer cookies, half dipped in some concoction of chocolate and coconut, Edward noticed that her voice was strong but not grating. He decided it was pleasing to his ears before wondering what was wrong with him and if this was just another one of her tricks.

"The King's guards do well most of the time," Angela began, "But-,"

"Even the king relies on outside help, on us, when he thinks his guardsmen cannot handle the threat." Behind him he heard Emmett's mental curse and a cough as he choked on the bit of cake he'd filched from the countertop. Bella turned toward him and Edward was momentarily put off by the fierce look in her eye. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner, I'm-,"

"I know who you are," Bella snapped. How many times had she watched him as he walked by her shop, holding her breath as he passed only to be disappointed when he never approached? Each and every time the irrational sense of disappointment had irritated Bella to no end. Now he stood in front of her, his arrogant smirk falling as he read the fury in her voice, her posture and her eyes.

His implications of the competency of her father and his fellows made her see red, and before she knew it she was stepping out from behind the counter. She almost faltered when she looked up, startled by how much more beautiful his face was up close; how perfect the cut of his jaw was.

Bella shook her head, a fresh wave of annoyance running through her. Perhaps he was projecting a glamour that enhanced the allure of his handsome face. Bella forced herself to keep walking past him as she held the door open. "Mr. Cullen, I believe we can do without your patronage as I am sure the King would prefer to have you at his side."

He stared at her, wide-eyed, but could see as she stared steadily back that she was entirely serious. Narrowing his eyes, Edward stormed past her. He whirled around as he got to the door, shocked to find her only inches away. He heard her quiet gasp as they both felt a strange current between them, a type of magnetism. He alternated between a desire to throttle the girl and her bewildering harpy attitude toward him and an equally bewildering NEED to feel her lips against his. Instead of either, when he was sure his voice would come out steady, he said, "It's just as well Miss Swan, I see nothing appealing here," and stalked away without a backward glance.

***

Despite Edward's critique, his siblings Emmett and Alice quickly became two of the bakery's top customers. More than that, Bella genuinely enjoyed being around them. Neither emanated the cold attitude Edward always exuded. Emmett was playful and teasing, much like the big brother she'd always longed for. Alice was all energy and smiles. Bella felt truly at ease with them both.

Edward continued his almost daily journeys past the bakery. Whenever they caught each other's eye, he would scowl causing Bella to grimace in return. Honestly, she had no idea what had made her kick him out that way. She knew she had overreacted. He hadn't known, Emmett had assured her, that her father was the head of the guard. And, to be fair, it was true that the King trusted the Cullens over the guard on outside matters. Even if he annoyed her, at the very least she could have used him as a customer.

Feigning disinterest, poorly, Alice had mentioned that Edward particularly enjoyed apple turnovers. Without acknowledging that she was specifically trying to lure him back into her shop, Bella had put a batch of them right in the window, knowing their aroma would waft down the street. She bit her lip, watching out of the corner of her eye as he approached the shop. He seemed to slow as he passed, but when he looked over and caught her watching he only scowled as usual and walked briskly away.

"Don't worry," Alice's tinkling voice came from behind her. "It will work, eventually. There are just some things he needs to … come to terms with."

Bella went back to kneading the dough in front of her, ignoring the blush that colored her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about Alice."

Alice shrugged, accepting that. Like her brother, she had also been born with a gift for magic. In her it manifested in visions of the future. In the weeks she had known her, Bella had become accustomed to Alice's sometimes cryptic way of talking about what would be rather than what was.

Rather than concentrate on Edward Cullen and his infuriating domination of her thoughts, Bella turned her attention to the other people in the shop. Jessica and her friend Lauren, another witch whose hands and nose were horribly disfigured, were sitting at the shop's lone table with Eric and Tyler. Jessica was leaning toward Tyler and he was leaning, noticeably, away, his face painted with thinly veiled disgust.

"Best be wary, Tyler," Lauren was saying cattily. "She turned the last man who spurned her into a newt." Lauren stroked the lizard on Jessica's shoulder with one finger. "Is that not so Mike?" she cooed to the creature.

Mike the Newt, Bella thought to herself as she turned away from the scene. "You know," Alice said conversationally, "I'm not entirely sure she's kidding."

Alice left the bakery about a half an hour later when Edward was on his way back from whatever pressing business called him across town nearly daily. As she flitted to his side she proffered one of the turnovers she'd purchased from Bella. "Really," she said, "they are the most fantastic thing you'll ever taste."

Edward sighed, frustrated with his sister. "I don't know why you insist on doing this to me Alice."

"It can work. If you'd just-," Alice cut herself off, her eyes suddenly going wide and blank. Knowing that look well, Edward processed her vision with her.

"No!" they both cried out in unison.

Across the street, Bella was stepping out of her shop. Tyler, his horse and cart loaded with supplies for the King, was taking the corner at a near gallop. His cart was loose. As he turned one direction it spun the other, breaking. Bella only had time to look up, seeing the cart barreling toward her.

In the next second something hit her from the total opposite direction and she found herself flying toward the ground and then rolling, but as she rolled she was protected from the harsh cobblestone by something more malleable. Something that wrapped its arms protectively around her as they tumbled.

Bella opened her eyes, in one fraction of a second taking in Edward's frantic face above her, and the horrifying image of Tyler's huge horse rearing, its hooves about to come down on them both. Edward braced himself over Bella's prone body. He was vaguely aware of Alice shouting out a spell, her voice panicked and slightly shrill. The horse's hooves came down on an invisible barrier instead of Edward's back and then it stumbled backward, still rearing, startled.

People were starting to surround them then, but Bella could hardly see them. All she felt were Edward's fingers running through her hair, both comforting and trying to find any sign of damage. He was still leaning over her, his upper body propped on one arm while the rest of him pressed against her. "Bella, are you alright?"

Physically she was fine. She could feel a knot forming on the back of her head but she had lived on a farm and was not blessed with natural grace; she'd had bumps before. Rather, it was the feel of his body against hers that left her breathless. That spark, the feeling of fire and lightning between them that had been there as they stared at each other that day in the bakery was nearly overwhelming. Everywhere they were connected her skin tingled, even through her clothing. She was suddenly, overwhelmingly desperate to wind her arms around his neck. How many times had her dreams painted this very picture?

She blinked, her gaze breaking from his worried green eyes. As she stared around her in confusion, trying to right place and time, her mind was sifting through every time Edward had glared in her direction, his arrogant and then hateful words in her bakery. She was suddenly furious, not at him but at herself for her irrational feelings, for wanting to claim his lips as her own even with all the people that surrounded them.

Catching the change in her expression from wide eyed and slightly frightened to angry, Edward narrowed his own eyes in confusion and concern. She hadn't spoken yet and he had no idea what type of head trauma she might be suffering from. She started to squirm, trying to get up and he gently pushed her back down. "You shouldn't move yet."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," she said, obviously irritated. She glanced down indicating the way she was pinned beneath his body. Edward, feeling an uncharacteristic blush tinge his cheeks, scrambled back onto his knees, ignoring a wave of dizziness that threatened to send him sprawling forward again.

Bella seemed to be trying not to look at him as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Having gathered that Bella and Edward were both at least intact and alert, the crowd was now mostly centered around Tyler who had fallen from his horse and was passed out cold on the street. Jessica was screaming, but she had a tendency toward dramatics; it didn't look bad. Alice was standing behind her brother and a few feet back, a knowing smile on her face if they cared to look at her, but neither did.

"Bella," Edward tried again, "You really should wait a few moments."

He reached out to push her back down again but Bella recoiled from his hand. "I'm fine," she insisted. "What is it to you in any event?"

Edward blinked, startled. "What do you mean?"

"You don't like me. Why did you bother saving me?" she asked, scooting further back from him.

Edward gaped at the girl. Clearly she must have hit her head harder than he'd thought. "It's my … job," he blurted, angry and unable to say what he really wanted to say – that he was sure the sight of her broken body would have robbed his world of everything but unimaginable pain.

A flicker of hurt flashed through her eyes before it was swiftly replaced by the familiar anger. "You are relieved of your duty when it comes to me, thank you." She stood carefully, still a little shaky.

Edward rose to follow her and had to stand completely still for a moment as another wave of dizziness hit him. "Be reasonable. I protect half the countryside!" he said to her turned back.

Bella whirled to face him again. "Surely the countryside can object! I don't want your protection." She turned again striding toward the front door of the bakery.

"Bella-," Edward tried to take another step, but the dizziness overwhelmed him then and he stumbled backward a few paces before sitting on the ground heavily. Alice was by his side in an instant.

All anger and irritation dissipated from Bella's body when she turned and saw him on the ground. Without thinking, she immediately sunk to her knees at his side.

"What's wrong, Edward?" Alice was asking. Her voice was even but urgent. Clearly she saw no life threatening danger in her visions.

Edward dropped his head into his hands. "It's just my head. I must have hit it. I didn't notice," he said through gritted teeth. He had been concentrating on Bella, his every fear wrapped up in her safety. Now he could feel his head throbbing with every beat of his heart.

"Oh," Bella breathed, seeing for the first time a trickle of blood running down his neck on his left side. She ran her fingers carefully through his thick hair, the softness of it not lost on her even then, until she found the source of the blood. Edward hissed when her fingers came in contact with the gash that his unruly hair had hidden. Bella stroked the other side of his face automatically, shushing him soothingly.

"Keep him alert," Alice murmured, watching as Edward's features literally calmed in front of her as Bella stroked his cheek and his hair. "Our father is on his way." She moved off then to see if she could help Tyler, or at the very least get Jessica to stop her incessant shrieking.

Bella removed her apron, rolling it up and pressing it against Edward's head. "Hold this here a moment," she commanded gently. Edward obeyed. Bella shifted to sit beside him. She guided his head onto her lap so that he was laying face up.

Even through his pounding headache Edward did not miss the undeniable electricity when her small hand rested over his against the apron. At her urging he let go reluctantly. She kept one hand firmly against the apron and his wound while the other resumed stroking his cheek. Little by little he began to unclench his jaw, his muscles relaxing. Even with the pain the feel of her fingers at his temple and through his hair had to have been close to what heaven felt like.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet and when he looked up into her eyes they were gentler than he had ever seen them.

"For what?" he managed.

Bella chuffed lightly. "You saved my life, you were wounded in my place and how do I thank you? By yelling at you." She shook her head at herself briefly before looking him in the eye again. "Thank you. Really."

Edward smiled, a beautiful lopsided grin. "I'll not say it was my pleasure," he gestured vaguely at his head, "But I don't regret it." His grin fell and he turned serious. "I'm sorry as well. I know I've been very rude."

For a few moments they said nothing, and then Edward spoke again. "I thought blood made you nauseous."

Bella's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How did you know that?"

Edward winced and offered her only an apologetic smile. He did not tell her that every day he had passed by her shop, before and after they'd officially met, he had listened in on her conversations through the medium of other people's thoughts. At first he was trying to figure who she was and how she had thwarted his gift, but he had become fascinated by her. He hung on her every word. He did not tell her that several weeks ago he had had to stop himself from rushing to her side when Angela had cut her finger and Bella had very nearly fainted at the sight and smell of the blood.

"I'll be fine," Bella finally answered him. She didn't tell him that she was fighting her nausea even now. She did not tell him that it was worth every angry stare she'd endured to be able to finally run her fingers through his hair.

Edward heard more than saw when his father arrived on the scene. His thoughts had been focused on whatever injuries he'd be walking into. But when he saw his son lying with his head cradled in the Swan girl's lap, both their eyes full of a gentle tenderness, his mind was completely blank, save for the shock. Reluctantly, Edward turned away from Bella's face to send a reassuring glance at his father. Tyler was in more need of Carlisle's medical magic and Edward was fine, more than fine, where he was.

_Don't fight this Edward. _Alice thought at him. Again the two visions that had plagued him all these weeks flashed through her mind.

It was that day, after actually meeting her in her bakery, Alice had the vision for the first time. It was a still image; a single moment from a later time. It was also easily the most terrifying image he'd ever held in his head.

The image was of a throne room, far away in what he knew to be Volterra. He knew it because Aro, his grandfather, Aro's brother Caius and their brother-in-law Marcus sat at their thrones. Kneeling at Aro's feet, her hands bound tightly behind her back, was Bella. Aro's guards, Felix and Demetri, stood at either side of her, a restraining hand on her shoulder. She stared up at Aro with a fierce hatred.

Aro had a very warped sense of entitlement. He still saw Esme as his and, by extension, all of what Carlisle had. But what he wanted most desperately of all, what he had wanted as soon as he knew of their existence, was his two very gifted grandchildren. Edward had seen the wish in his mind the one time he'd seen the man, years ago – Alice and Edward at his command.

But Aro was not the kind to simply take what he wanted. He preferred to keep his white hat. He did not build his empire through wars and force as it would make him unpopular. Rather, he preferred to get what he wanted through manipulation.

The instant he'd seen the vision he'd known – if Aro wanted to get him to do anything, all he had to do was threaten Bella. As it was, just seeing that single glimpse, he had the physical urge to run straight to Volterra and drive his sword through Aro's heart.

But as much as this vision had haunted him, it was Alice's second vision that was near torture. He'd tried not to remember, but it was impossible to forget.

It was a moving image; just a handful of seconds, like a titillating teaser, of a life that he could not allow himself to want.

He held Bella in his arms as they swayed gently in a dance. She was smiling, every inch of her face radiating with adoration. His own eyes were filled with a tenderness and passion he would not have believed he possessed. He leaned in, his lips just half an inch from hers, when the vision cut off.

Edward let out a frustrated sigh, both at the teasing vision and the fact that his time with Bella was drawing to a close. His father had finished with Tyler and even now the knight was being loaded onto the back of his own cart to go sleep off what remained of his injury. Edward looked into Bella's eyes again and just knew. He would find another way to circumvent the future because staying away from her was impossible.

***

Bella had been fascinated by Carlisle's cleric magic. She knew of magic, of course, having heard tales from the many travelers that had stopped at her farm for food or from the few times she'd gone into town with her mother, but she'd never seen it in use. Carlisle had said a few words in an ancient language over Edward's head and the wound had knitted together in front of her eyes. There had been bruising, and his hair was still matted with the blood he'd already shed, but otherwise there was no indication that there'd been a gash at all.

Over the next week or so she had found herself at the Cullen House more than once. They had explained about magic – how not everyone could tap into it. Emmett, despite being a product of very strong magical ties on both sides could not so much as move a feather with magic. "But who needs to be able to do that?" Emmett had quipped. Faster than Bella would have thought possible he had unsheathed his enormous sword and cut a thick limb from a nearby tree. "I think I manage to be effective."

Magic users most often chose a specific field to study as there was too much magic to know everything. Carlisle had focused his gifts on the body. He explained that what he did was talk to the body. He could find out if something was wrong and could convince the body to heal in many cases. Like with Edward he had simply encouraged the skin to mend. Alice could manipulate the air. Harden it, as she had done to protect Edward and Bella from Tyler's horse, or summon walls of wind to deflect and confuse an enemy. Benjamin and Katrina, two other members of the guild, had mastered earth and energy respectively.

Of the few who could manipulate magic even fewer had some additional, special gift. In addition to Alice and Edward there were only a few other members of the guild who were gifted. Carlisle's second in command Eleazar's gift was actually to see gifts and magical potential.

"Alice's fiancé Jasper is very interesting," Edward told her one evening. Bella had not had a chance yet to meet Jasper or Rosalie as they had been out on assignment since just before her bakery had opened. They were due back at any moment. "He is very talented with any instrument you give him, and he can use his music to influence emotions. It's very useful in a battle, sending waves of confidence and whatnot across the ranks, or making our enemies feel fear if he's able to get close enough to them. A bard – that's what he's called."

"A bard?" Bella was impressed. "I heard that there are few bards."

"And none of them can twist songs like I can, darling," came a lilting voice with a soft drawl. Bella spun from where she and Edward sat in the common room. In the doorway stood Jasper Hale, his arm thrown around Alice's shoulders. Bella started a little at his appearance. At this distance she could see him clearly as she had not been able to before. His face and all his body that she could see was covered in scars. They did not deform his skin but seemed instead to decorate it. Up close they were his most prominent feature. He gave her a wry smile, noting her staring.

Before Bella could open her mouth to apologize she was interrupted by a loud, joyous whoop. Emmett charged into the room carrying someone on his back. At first all Bella could see was long golden hair, the same shade as Jasper's. This must be Emmett's wife Rosalie – the one Cullen she hadn't seen yet.

Emmett had mentioned that his wife was a witch and Bella had automatically pictured someone a little less bewitching than the statuesque woman who stood before her. Even in the simple white dress she wore she was stunning: all sensuous curves and perfectly formed facial features. She narrowed her eyes at Bella's obvious ogling. "What?" she said, haughty. "You were expecting some hag?"

"I'm sorry," Bella said, dropping her gaze apologetically. "It's just Jessica…and Lauren…"

Rosalie snorted. "Others of my kind are moronic enough to use their magic for evil. But the problem with the dark arts is that those who use them are warped as they warp their victims. I am not stupid. I did not ask for this power, but since I have it, I find better uses for it than casting hexes." She rolled her eyes, grabbed Emmett's hand and left the room with a small glare in Bella's direction.

After the rest of the family had assured Bella that Rosalie was like that with everyone and Jasper had a chance to formally introduce himself, dinner was called in the main hall. Since Charles had set off that afternoon for a three day fishing journey, Bella accepted the offer to join everyone.

Throughout dinner, the returning adventurers recounted their tale. Bella listened, fascinated by the tales of creatures and cities she had never seen before.

After dinner Bella sat back, contentedly watching all the guild mates relax amongst each other. Carlisle and Eleazar, who had been gone with the rest, sat across the room, heads bent close together in discussion. Jasper had taken out his lyre and was playing a lively tune. Alice had pulled Edward up to dance with her.

"My Alice," Esme said fondly, coming to sit beside Bella. "Did you know she had told me, practically since she could speak, that her husband was out on Delphia Mountain? All her life she talked about it. Then, a few days before her 17th birthday, she wandered away and came back towing Jasper and Rosalie. She announced they were coming to live with us. They were both 19 then. They'd had a hard life – living in the wilderness of the mountains just like Alice had seen. That's why Jasper has all those scars – he never let Rosalie do any of the hunting or anything dangerous in the six years they wandered alone."

Bella could easily hear the compassion in Esme's voice as she spoke of her adopted children's plight.

Though she did not fight Esme was a skilled enchantress. She had stitched almost every robe and tunic in the guild with enchantments that gave special protection or enhanced certain abilities. It was her way, as she loved each and every member under her roof, to give them what they needed to survive and come back to her. She was very much the mother hen to everyone in the guild. Even Bella was fast coming to think of her as a surrogate mother.

"Carlisle and I had hoped that Rosalie and Edward….," Esme trailed off. "Well, you see, Emmett was never a worry. He has such a natural way with everyone – he has always had the girls wrapped around his finger. But Edward – he has never showed interest in anything but his studies and his training." She turned to face Bella, not missing that Bella's eyes were on Edward, as they had been all night. Even as he was twirling Alice around, he looked up, catching Bella's eyes and smiling his lopsided grin.

"That's why we're so glad he's found you, dear," Esme said softly.

Bella snapped her head up in shock."We're just friends," she mumbled automatically. Esme only smiled and patted her hand.

Across the room Edward had set Alice down. He noticed Eleazar had finished his conversation with his father and was watching Bella intently._ A shield._ The older man was thinking, his eyebrows furrowed with concentration as he tried to use his gift on Bella.

"A shield?" Edward said, coming up beside him.

Eleazar started and turned toward Edward with a wry expression. "My boy, if you're going to eavesdrop you might have the common courtesy to not scare me half to death," he chastised. He nodded in Bella's direction. "Your girl there is quite an impressive shield actually. I can't get a read on her at all. Do you know how far she can stretch it?"

Now it was Edward's turn to furrow his eyebrows. He had not considered Bella's silent mind as a gift before. "She isn't doing it consciously," he mumbled, distracted. For the first time it occurred to him that Aro's future interest in Bella might not have anything to do with him. A mental shield would be very intriguing to the Volturi's leader.

A small ray of hope began to blossom in Edward's heart but he immediately beat it back. No, becoming Bella's friend was bad enough. He could not risk that Aro would ever find out the hold she had on him.

Edward shook off this line of thinking as he heard Eleazar's next thoughts, wondering about approaching Bella and seeing if she'd like to develop any magical aptitude she might have. "Eleazar, no."

The older man raised an eyebrow at Edward. "And why not? I've had to watch you waste your abilities Edward, it would be a shame not to see what she's capable of."

Edward rolled his eyes. Eleazar had been most upset when Edward had chosen not to develop his affinity for magic. Instead, Edward had trained in direct fighting – hand to hand, daggers, swords and the like. He preferred the front lines and meeting any opposition face to face. "Just for now," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew he didn't have a good reason, but he could not bear to think of Bella in his line of work – where she would most definitely end up if she took an interest in developing her potential skills.

The older man studied him for a moment. "I'll leave it to your discretion for the moment Edward, but you should tell her."

As the night wore on and began to wind down Edward and Bella gravitated toward each other. They had both had a little more mead than was absolutely necessary to quench their thirst and they were sprawled lazily on one of the couches in the common room.

Bella's eyes wandered around the room, noting the coupled off guild members who had been socializing only hours before were now wrapped up in each other's arms or otherwise oblivious to the commotion around them. Alice and Jasper were on the stairs, his head in her lap as he murmured softly to her. Rosalie and Emmett had disappeared over an hour ago heading toward their quarters. Esme and Carlisle were sitting close together in two armchairs, their hands intertwined and foreheads nearly touching as they talked quietly. Eleazar's wife Carmen sat on his lap. Two of the other members Bella had met today – Katrina and Garrett – were swaying to music only they could hear.

"Edward?" Bella said quietly.

"Hmm?" came his verbose reply.

"Your mother told me tonight that you've always been alone. Why is that?" Bella was sure that without the mead she never would have had the courage to ask, but she was curious.

Edward blinked several times, startled by the question. Enough time passed that Bella was about to apologize for being rude when Edward finally answered. "My gift – it can be a curse as well. Always knowing exactly what someone thinks about you – the good, the bad, the ugly. It's disconcerting to say the least. And then – none of the girls I tried … to be with were ever really interested in me. They were interested in my wealth, or the…allure of my profession."

"Or the allure of your face," Bella concluded. Edward smirked at her and she blushed. "I'm not blind. I'd imagine, for some women, bedding you would be one step closer to a genetic jackpot." Bella was quite sure, if she had been sober, she would have fainted in mortification with what she was saying now.

Edward chuckled. "What about you. Have you ever had an interest in anyone?"

"Not on the farm," she said honestly. Then, sleepily, she said, "I bet it drives you mad that you can't know what I'm thinking."

Edward had to chuckle at that remarkable understatement. "You have no idea."

Bella fell asleep on the couch and when he was certain he was steady enough, Edward carried her up to his room. He settled her into his large bed, sitting near her as he arranged the blankets around her shoulders. He was stalling, he acknowledged that, but honestly he never got a chance to simply look at her without having to look away. This side of her – peaceful and innocent in sleep – was one he'd never seen and he found himself as engrossed by her as he always was.

Finally, sleep would not wait any longer and Edward stumbled to the couch in the room, lying down.

"Edward," Bella mumbled and Edward's eyes shot open. It took him a minute to realize she was not awake but was talking in her sleep. "Edward, I'm not running from you."

No, she never had. It had always been him pushing her away. Edward's heart ached as a wave of longing swept over him. If only things were simpler. Finally, he was able to escape to his dreams where they could be together, and he was happy.

***

Being raised on a farm, Bella was minimally educated. She could read and write. She had learned from the stories of travelers and what few books she could get her hands on, but there were many gaps in her general knowledge. The Cullens were always patient with her questions, especially Edward who had studied the most out of all of them.

Emmett seemed to enjoy trivia. Did she know, for instance, that Forkshire was once under a curse and during that time it had rained almost every day? Alice was best with art and language. Bella had fascinating discussions with Carlisle about the differences in anatomy between humans and the other species he'd come across. Jasper was knowledgeable in history, particularly wars and grudges between cities. Esme helped her arrange her financial records and had taught her the recipe for what had been Edward's favorite cookies as a child.

Of course, Edward was never remiss in any subject with the small exception of cooking. "Show off," Bella had teased him more than once.

One day Emmett had referred to Alice as a tricky pixie and Bella had asked what a pixie was. Before she knew it, she, Alice Edward and Emmett were all out in the forest, Emmett looked a bit ridiculous, sticking his head into hollowed out tree trunks until finally he came out with a winged creature resting daintily on the palm of his hand.

Bella scrunched her nose, looking from the tiny, vaguely girl shaped creature to Alice who was staring at her brother with arched eyebrows. "I don't see the resemblance."

The pixie giggled and glanced at Emmett with a large grin. She relaxed against his thumb, her hands behind her head. "Come on," Emmett protested. "She's a bony, skinny little thing with spiky, messy hair!"

Both the pixie and Alice turned their glares on Emmett and his less than flattering description. The pixie stood, and, eerily synchronized with Alice, put her tiny hands on her hips. "I didn't – look, what I meant," Emmett tried to backtrack.

Laughing at his big brother, Edward leaned forward so he was eye level with the pixie. He said a few sentences in an odd, clipped sort of language, gesturing at Emmett and rolling his eyes. The pixie covered her mouth, giggling with delight – a tinny sound that could barely be heard. She nodded at Edward and then jumped off Emmett's large hand, flying up to give Edward a swift peck on the cheek. Then she flew away, no more than a green-tinged blur, back to the tree Emmett had found her in.

Bella was watching Edward with a raised eyebrow. "You speak pixie?"

Edward grinned ruefully. "Not a lot. Enough to tell her that Emmett was born with a brain the size of an orc's."

Alice and Bella laughed. Emmett just grinned good naturedly.

Life in Forkshire was better than she could have hoped.

She ignored the quiet ache in her heart at Edward's disconcerting closeness. It was maddening to be able to touch him, laugh with him, and not have the things she wanted. Even through their growing friendship, the inexplicable pull she felt for him never lessened. If anything it only became harder and harder to ignore.

Some days she could swear she could see the same look in his eyes – all longing and desperation. But he never acted on it.

Her daydreams were filled with him, from unconsciously trying to figure out how to make cake frosting the exact shade of green of his eyes to wondering if his skin tasted better than melted dark chocolate on plump, ruby red strawberries.

Every night he stared in her dreams. She imagined more than once that she woke to find him watching her. In her dreams she was able to be bold, and she'd pull him down with her on the bed. She woke blushing and trembling.

And so life continued in a mostly happy blur between the bakery, the Cullens and life at home with her father.

One day, when her father and the rest of the knights were busy with a full day of drilling, Bella brought around treats for the whole crew.

"Just in time, Bells!" Charles said cheerfully. "I think the young ones were planning mutiny."

"Glad I could help, Fa," Bella grinned. She turned, hearing a familiar bark. "Well, hello Jacob." She scratched the dog behind his ears. Jacob sniffed at her palm and gave her the universal puppy dog stare. Bella couldn't help but laugh as she produced a bone shaped treat for him.

Bella talked to her father for a few more minutes and was about to head off when she heard a familiar voice call her name from across the grounds. She turned to see Edward striding toward her, amazed that after all this time her heartbeat still stuttered when she caught sight of him. "I thought I saw you come in here." He turned, nodding his head politely at Charles. "Sir Swan."

Charles tipped his head in acknowledgement. "Edward." He turned back to his daughter. "I'll see you at home."

Bella turned back to find Edward staring at Jacob uneasily. It took her a moment to figure out that Jacob was growling, low and menacing. Edward took a careful step toward Bella, placing him between her and the dog. Jacob barked and snarled, looking as if he were about to pounce.

"Jacob!" Sam called, noticing Jacob's aggressive posture and jogging over.

"He seems a little feral," Edward snapped Sam, his eyes still on Jacob's tense form.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "He usually only does that when he senses a threat. Dogs are excellent judges of character." Sam reached out, tugging lightly on Jacob's collar. He glared once more at Edward and then went back to his pack, Jacob in tow.

"Jacob's harmless," Bella admonished Edward, watching him watch the dog from across the yard.

Edward rolled his eyes at her. Bella had a tendency to be unconcerned about dangerous things.

Days later, they lounged on their preferred sofa in the common room. The rest of the family was there – Alice and Jasper sitting by the fireplace as he played sweet songs to her. Esme and Carlisle bent over an intense game of chess. Even Rosalie and Emmett were wrapped around each other on another couch across the room.

"Actually, the Volturi favor total exsanguination – draining the body of blood – as their method of execution," Edward explained one night.

Bella scrunched up her face in confusion but seemed otherwise untroubled by this gruesome factoid. "Why?"

"You'd be surprised how many potions and elixirs call for the blood of the unrighteous," Edward said with a chuckle. It seemed ridiculous that the conversation had digressed from a history of Volterra to how they kept the peace in their part of the world. It never failed to amaze him when she did not balk at some of the horrors he had seen firsthand.

"In their language, your name means beauty," Edward said, a propos of nothing, looking up from under his lashes.

Bella felt her heart go into overdrive. That look did strange, pleasant things to her body. "In my mother's language, it means warrior – battler," she returned.

"That's amazingly appropriate, either way," Edward said almost absently. Before he could think to stop himself, he reached out, tucking a distracting strand of hair behind her ear. Of course, Bella's cheeks flushed pink. He couldn't help but smile. How he loved the way the red stained her porcelain features. Absently he ran his finger along the outer edge of her ear, back and forth. It felt good to touch her; right. He felt her delicate shudder but she didn't protest.

For long moments they both forgot to speak, wrapped up in each other's eyes. Edward heard Jasper's soft, sweet playing and the music seemed to be echoing the emotion that was building in his chest. In that moment the world seemed to collapse in on itself. There was nothing but this beautiful woman and the convoluted simplicity that he loved her. In that moment he would have thought he was made of this all consuming adoration and devotion he felt. There was nothing else – not his fear or his guilt, his frustration or his anxiety.

And because there was nothing else; because logic and rightness had ceased to mean anything and his heart was suddenly at the reins, Edward tilted his head, pressing his lips softly against hers.

Instantly she responded, her lips tentative. He broke the kiss after only a second, needing to see her face. The look in her bright eyes mirrored his emotions and he kissed her again. At first their kisses were sweet and wondering. Then something seemed to change. Bella was leaning into him, her hands tangled in his hair. His arms had wound around her waist and he was pulling her impossibly closer. Their kisses became hungry, betraying the long weeks of pent up emotion. When her mouth encouraged his to open he didn't resist. She tasted like the lemon drops she'd brought today – all tartness and sweet rolled into one.

It was the sound of mental retching that first permeated the bubble his world had become. Rosalie.

_Yech. So much for dinner._

Edward broke their kiss again, the noise of the thoughts in the room suddenly overwhelming. Emmett was mentally whistling. Carlisle and Jasper were torn between shock and amusement. Esme was filled with joy and Alice… Alice was smug. _Finally, _she thought, replaying her second vision of them, together and happy. But before she could stop it that first, terrifying vision ran through her mind again.

Edward leaned his forehead against Bella's, the guilt returning in force. _What have I done? _"Bella," he murmured automatically. "I can't."

It was amazing how instantaneously the passion in her eyes was replaced by shock, incredulity and then hurt. She scrambled to her feet and Edward thought his heart might break. "You don't understand," he said, standing and reaching for her.

She skittered back. "No, you don't understand," she said, her voice twisting with anger. "You are so confusing. You like me. You hate me. You want me. You don't. We can't stay here, balancing on the edge of a blade. We're going to fall off one side or the other."

He stared at her, utterly torn. He wanted nothing more than to take her back into his arms, but even as he took a step forward the image of her at Aro's feet haunted him. He faltered.

Reading the indecision on his face Bella bit back the overwhelming urge to beg, plead – anything if he would only feel the same about her as she did about him. Instead, she pivoted and bolted for the door as quickly as her dignity would allow.

He moved to follow her but was stopped by Alice who was suddenly in front of him. "Don't," she commanded, smacking his chest sharply. "Don't you dare go near her until you make up your mind. She doesn't deserve this." In her mind the future was blurry and indistinct.

Edward groaned and nodded, trying to figure out how things had gone so wrong so fast. One minute they were talking and the next he'd heard Jasper's music and all he could think about was kissing Bella.

He whirled on his brother, "Jasper-."

"No," Jasper said firmly, already knowing what Edward was going to accuse him of. "Music is the catalyst of the soul brother. It enhances what you feel, it doesn't create it. That there was all you."

For once, Edward was at a complete loss as to what to do. He didn't know what was right anymore – whether it was right to continue to stay away from her and refuse to acknowledge his overwhelming desire, or whether it was right to give in; stop this game he was playing. He could never be just her friend – it would drive them both mad.

Unable to take the looks in his families eyes – from Alice's anger to Carlisle's patience and Esme's compassion – Edward fled to his room.

As soon as she had gotten outside the Cullen House, Bella had set off for the woods. She didn't want to risk being seen by Jessica or Lauren, least she become the center of the town's gossip. Honestly, she didn't want to see anyone, preferring to be alone with her thoughts. She knew she was close to tears and she would rather die than let them catch her crying.

Had she really been so blind? She replayed each day she had spent with Edward. Leaning over his shoulder as he pointed out something in a book. Taking breaks from the bakery to walk with him and discuss his travels, history, or anything else that had struck them. She could talk to him for hours without getting restless.

She thought of every look he had given her. How his mouth had always curved into her favorite lopsided grin whenever he saw her. He didn't seem to look at anyone else that way.

By the time she finally let herself think of his kiss, the perfect way their mouths had fit together, it was twilight, moving swiftly toward darkness. She had run out of tears and had wandered back into town. Bella was so lost in thought that she did not notice that she had turned down the familiar path toward her shop instead of toward home. Since all the shops in this part of town were closed at night there was naught but the light of the moon to guide her. In the night the warmth of the square was completely void, replaced with darkness and shadows. She did not notice the four men, passing a bottle of homemade alcohol between them, until they had ambled drunkenly to their feet and started after her.

"She don't look like no whore," she heard one of them say to the others.

Bella picked up her pace, but in return heard their footsteps quicken, and suddenly two of them were standing right in front of her. She skidded to a stop just short of plowing straight into them. The larger one snickered, blowing his stale, putrid breath into her face as he spoke, "What kind of lady'd be walking 'round 'ere if she weren't up to no good?"

"Don't touch me," Bella warned, taking a step to the side. She was stopped by the presence of the third man, and again when she backed up by the fourth man. She was surrounded. She felt a thrill of fear race up her spine and her heartbeat quickened. "Don't touch me," she said, louder, as one of the men moved closer to her.

"Don't be like that poppet," he said, laughing as he reached out for her, grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her forward. Bella reacted instinctually. As she came in contact with his front she brought her leg up, kneeing him in the groin as hard as she could. As soon as she felt the grip on her wrist loosen she pushed forward, knocking the man down, and tried to run. The other three were faster. One grabbed the sleeve of her dress, the ripping sound it made as she was pulled backward was unbearably loud in the quiet of the night.

Bella let out a scream that was cut off quickly when one of the three men standing slapped her hard across her face. She could hear them shouting, cursing at her as she struggled. She dug fingernails into any arms that tried to hold her; kicked at any body she made contact with. She couldn't wrap her mind around what they were saying. The sound of her own heartbeat seemed impossibly loud in her ears.

The largest one, and the strongest from the look of the muscles that strained against his tight fitting shirt, finally got hold of her wrists, gripping them violently. He kept Bella a safe distance from his groin as he squeezed her wrists in his hands. Bella cried out in agony, feeling as if her bones would snap under the pressure. The ogre sized man pushed down and her legs buckled, sending her to her knees in front of him.

Again thoughts of Edward filled her mind as they had all that afternoon and evening, but this time remembering the feel of his arms around her, keeping her safe from Tyler's cart and stomping horse. _Edward. _She thought, desperate.

Vaguely, as if across a great distance, Bella thought she heard horse hooves. But it was hard to concentrate around the pain and she thought she might be imagining it.

***

Emmett had eventually taken pity on his miserable brother and dragged him out to a tavern. But Edward had never been the type to drown his sorrows and the hard liquor in front of him sat mostly untouched.

"She deserves a future with a husband that can come home to her every night. With children and safety. She deserves more than a life that could kill her. She doesn't deserve what Alice sees," Edward said into his hands. This night was not the first time Emmett had heard these words, but it was the first night Edward sounded so unsure – as if he only held onto this belief by a single thread.

Emmett let out a frustrated snort. "She could die a bloody, painful death birthing one of the children you so desperately want for her. Or of a disease. Or get attacked by a dragon like William Black's wife. Or -"

"No!" Edward shouted, cutting off Emmett's rant. He stood so fast his seat fell over and bolted for the door.

"I didn't mean right now!" Emmett shouted after him, perplexed as usual at his younger brother's antics. He sighed, reaching for his brother's nearly full drink and downing it in one shot.

Edward had his horse untied from the post in a matter of seconds. As his brother was talking he'd allowed his mind to wander, skipping from mind to mind, trying to find Bella in the thoughts around him. When he tried, he could hear minds for a couple of miles, and the town was not all that big. She must be around someone somewhere.

He had found her in the thoughts of a man whose mind was no more than a cesspool. He could see her from the man's viewpoint, startled. And he could see the man's more carnal interest in her.

Having walked it so many times, Edward recognized the square where Bella's shop was located. As he rode, he kept an eye on Bella through the mind of the man and his three companions, becoming increasingly more furious as they converged on her – grabbing her and hurting her. Almost there, Edward snarled with anticipation. His blood boiled with the absolute need to tear these human monsters limb from limb.

But as he rounded the corner and finally saw the scene with his own eyes, Edward knew that getting Bella away from these men was far more important than any harm he intended to inflict upon them. He took a dagger from his belt and tossed it as he galloped forward. It hit the goliath that had Bella square in the back. The man roared in pain, letting go of her wrists.

Bella's head whipped up and she got to her feet almost in the same instant running toward Edward. He reached out, pulling her up onto the horse in front of him and wrapping one arm securely around her waist. His right arm brandished his sword at her attackers as they had gotten over their shock and were pulling out their own weapons.

Before they could charge another voice joined the commotion, a tinkling bell voice calling out a spell. The air around the four attackers whirled, whipping their clothing around them in a confusing and violent wind storm. Alice appeared, as if from nowhere, from a side ally, Jasper at her side – his face fierce and a narrow sword in his hand.

"Emmett is on his way. Go on Edward, get her away from here," Alice instructed. Edward hesitated, not liking leaving his sister so outnumbered and wanting more than anything to rip apart these men himself. "Go!" Alice commanded again. "We have them."

Edward turned the horse and kicked it into a gallop again, heading out of town, into the forest. He needed to get away from the mental voices of the men, and he needed to get Bella away from even the slightest danger. These needs warred greatly with his fury, his need to see their blood spilled on the streets. He sheathed his sword as they rode, wrapping both of his arms around Bella and pressing her body back against his chest.

There was no warning when Edward pulled the horse out of its dead run. They had been running through the forest at one moment, Bella unable to see anything but the closest trees as they whipped passed her face, and in the next moment they were in a meadow. As soon as the horse had stopped completely Edward dismounted in one fluid movement, landing on the ground with barely a sound and pacing a few yards away quickly. He stood completely still, facing away from her, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Even across the small distance, by the light of the moon, Bella could see his every muscle was tensed. She dismounted carefully, her heart still beating fast and her body trembling. She walked toward him slowly, as if she were afraid that any quick movement might startle him.

As she got closer she could see the rapid rise and fall of his shoulders as he tried to calm himself. She reached out tentatively, putting one hand on his taut shoulder. "Edward?" she said, breaking the silence. He shuddered slightly at her gentle touch and the soft sound of her voice, concerned and uncertain as it was, but he did not turn.

Edward let the silence stretch on another moment, struggling to keep the fury from his voice when he finally spoke. "Are you alright?" He wasn't entirely successful – his voice coming out tight and clipped.

Instead of answering Bella stepped closer, pressing herself flush against his back and wrapping her free arm around his waist. She rubbed soothing circles around the chiseled muscles over his stomach. Almost immediately she could feel the tension ease. His shoulders drooped into a more natural position and he pressed back slightly against her. "Bella," he said, gentle now, "are you hurt?"

Bella rested her head against his shoulder, inhaling the leather of his tunic, and the divine scent that was all Edward, letting the last of her fear fade away in his presence. "Look at me," she said simply. Instinctively she seemed to know what he needed. He wouldn't have believed her words without seeing the proof for himself.

When Edward finally turned his eyes were closed. He was afraid to see her. Bella brought her hands up, running her fingers over his cheek. She drew her fingers lightly over his eyelids, and under his eyes, tracing the purple shadows the moonlight bathed his features in. His lips parted as she stroked her thumbs over them, and he drew in one last calming breath before he opened his eyes.

Even in the pale light he could see the vivid red mark on her cheek where one of the men had struck her. He raised a hand, brushing the pads of his fingers over her cheek with the lightest of touches. "You're not even shaking. Aren't you scared?" he asked, cupping her face.

"I was," she said, leaning into his touch, assuring him she was whole. Her heart sped up as he brought his other hand up, cradling her face tenderly. "I feel safe with you," she explained, her voice breathy. If he continued to touch her she would be shaking for very different reasons.

Edward's hands moved from her cheek, brushing her hair back. He dropped his hands to her shoulders as she dropped her hands to his circle his waist again. He leaned in, pressing feather light kisses along the red mark, as if he trying to erase it with the gentle pressure of his lips. He was somewhat successful. Bella blushed under his tender ministrations, the blood in her cheeks camouflaging the handprint.

His fingers played with the torn fabric at her shoulders as if he wished he could somehow mend the dress. Instead he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder before pulling the sleeve up and smoothing it out.

Over and over the images replayed his mind; horrifying images and the thoughts of the four men, venomous as they thought about how they wanted to use her. Then coming around the corner, seeing her trembling in fear, her wrists held fast by a man easily three times her size and strength.

Carefully, Edward reached behind him, pulling her hands from around his waist. Even at his light touch she flinched. He glanced at her apologetically, holding her eyes as he twined his fingers with hers. He brought first her right hand up to inspect it in the moonlight. He could see the dark patches against her perfect pale skin. He twisted her hand gently, making sure she could rotate her wrists. She winced again but did not complain. He kissed the marks on her wrists tenderly, and repeated the process with her left hand.

"I will survive," she assured him. "Thanks to you. Again." She wrapped her arms around his waist when he let her hands go.

Edward sighed, closing his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been wandering in the first place." He sighed again and leaned back, cupping her face in his hands. His eyes were sad. "I'm so sorry about how I've acted. It was unforgivable of me to behave so."

"Not unforgivable." She studied his face. "Alice saw something bad happening, if we were together, didn't she?"

Edward was taken aback. "She told you?"

"No, but it's the only thing that makes sense."

After a moment Edward laid down in the tall grass of the meadow, pulling her with him and into his arms. He told her about his grandfather and Alice's vision. "I could not bear for you to be caught in his game. Not because of me. He is a very powerful man. I don't know that I could protect you from him."

Bella was silent for a long time. He could feel her heart beat fast as she lay against him. His own heart felt twisted and torn. Had he finally scared her away? "Bella, please. What are you thinking?"

She still didn't answer right away, but moved her hand down to where his lay on his chest and twined her fingers with his. After another handful of moments she propped herself up so she could look him in the eye. "None of us knows what this life will bring. Her vision never went away did it? Even when you were trying to stay away from me." Edward's silence and the guilty look in his eyes answered her question. "Maybe Alice's vision is related to you, maybe it isn't. But regardless, it will be harder for you to protect me if you're still running away from me."

He reached up to stroke her face. "I want so much for you, Bella. You deserve happily ever after."

Bella laughed lightly. "There are no guarantees in life, Edward. But I know there is no happily ever after for me without you. It's an impossibility."

Edward held her gaze for minutes, neither speaking. Then Bella ducked her head, suddenly shy at the intensity of his eyes and the bravery of her words. Edward rolled them so it was him hovering over her. He kissed her then, somehow both reverent and hungry, only breaking the kiss when they needed air, and even then he kissed a slow, lingering circuit from her temple to the edge of her lips down to her neck, back and forth, in between breaths.

When he looked back into her eyes she spoke the words that had been on the tip of her tongue for weeks now. "I love you."

He smiled a dazzling smile. He brushed the tip of his nose against her cheek, his mouth close to her ear. "You are my life now," he said simply. It was a promise.

**A/N 2– This was the first fanfiction I've written in 10 years! Wow. So, the rest of it has moments of M rated-ness. **

**Thanks to Audrey, Mike and Jennifer for looking this over and catching a fair number of typos.**


	2. Alice's Wedding

**Chapter 2 – Alice's Wedding**

**A/N: The contest is over so I'm finally starting to post chapters. I'm pretty excited. This story kind of gained a mind of its own and I'm having a blast writing it. Particularly the Volturi…and the smexing, but that comes later. It's funny that the rest of the chapters are, likely, going to be shorter than the Prolog but that's what happens when I try to write a one-shot. This particular chapter will be shorter than most as it's bridging a gap between my "prologue" and the rest of the story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

Early Fall

Bella had been blessed with long, thick, beautiful brown hair. Unfortunately, she had not been blessed with that distinctly feminine talent of teasing it into elegant styles. The closest she ever got to styling it was when she worked at her bakery. Even then it was only a simple bun. Occasionally, back on the farm, she had pulled it into a ponytail. Aside from those occasions it always hung, plain and loose down her back.

Normally, this fact did not bother her but today it was something of an inconvenience. It was Alice's wedding day and she had asked Bella several weeks previous to stand, along with Rosalie, as one of her ladies during the wedding ceremony. Flattered, Bella had agreed. She'd also agreed to wear anything that Alice provided without comment. Unfortunately, Alice wanted Rosalie and Bella to have ornate hairstyles. Bella had protested but Alice had laid on the guilt.

"Bella, please. My hair is too short to make pretty like that," Alice had pleaded.

"Why don't you grow your own hair out?" Bella groused, grumpy. She knew herself well enough to already know that Alice was going to win this argument somehow.

Sensing an easy victory, Alice's smile was all innocence. "I would but it's not wise to have long hair with my magic. The wind I create doesn't hurt me but if my hair is long it gets in my face. Wouldn't that be embarrassing – dying because my hair was in my eyes?"

So now Bella sat in Alice's overly large bedroom with the bride, Esme and Rosalie. Alice had put her hair up into pincurls the night before and now Esme was helping her take the pins out. A quarter of her hair fell in soft curlicues instead of their usual spiky disarray.

Bella sighed and glanced at Rosalie, briefly considering asking her for help. Rosalie's hair was already piled atop her head in a mass of tight braids mixed with smooth, loose strands. She was adding bejeweled pins seemingly at random. She and Bella's relationship had improved somewhat. Instead of outright glaring and rolling her eyes she'd taken to ignoring Bella as much as was possible. She might help, if only because it was Alice's wedding day, but at what price?

Esme's gentle voice broke Bella out of her internal debate. "Rosalie, would you be a dear and help Alice with the rest of these pins?"

Once Rosalie and Alice were situated, Esme walked over to Bella, nimbly plucking the brush from Bella's hands and immediately setting about smoothing her hair out.

"Oh, Esme," Bella protested. "I didn't mean to take you away from Alice. This is her day."

"Shh, sweetheart, don't worry. Alice is fine with Rosalie, see," she nodded her head at where Alice and Rosalie sat, giggling at something while Rosalie's quick, dexterous fingers undid the pins in Alice's hair. "Besides, I've missed this." Esme's voice was wistful as she spoke. "When she was a little girl, Alice used to love when I did her hair. It was so beautiful when it was long – sleek and jet black."

As Esme worked she recounted tales of Alice as a child. Every once in a while she would look up at Bella in the mirror and when she did Bella couldn't help but be struck by her eyes. They were the exact, beautiful shade of green as Edward's. Endlessly fascinated by anything about him, Bella enjoyed picking out Edward's features on his parent's faces: his mother's eyes, his father's jaw line and chin.

"Esme, where does Edward get his hair from?" Bella asked suddenly. Esme was obviously startled by the question as her hands paused momentarily. Bella was about to apologize, but held her tongue as she was now doubly curious. None of the Cullen children had hair that matched their parents but Emmett and Alice's dark hair was accounted for in Carlisle's father whom Bella had met the day before.

"My mother had the exact same shade hair, actually. Has Edward told you anything about her?" Bella shook her head marginally and Esme went back to her work. "Her name was Sulpicia."

Catching the past tense Bella murmured a quiet apology at bringing up what was clearly a sad subject for Esme, but the older woman brushed it off. "It's fine dear. You're part of the family now, and given what my daughter has seen in your future it's a story you should know. My mother was my father's first wife." She pursed her lips, obviously trying to find the right words to continue her story. "My father – he was not always the man he has become. There was a time when he was as kind and civilized as he pretends to be now.

"At first the Volturi were a guild just like this one. They were protectors of the people, and very good at what they did. Aro rose to the leadership when I was a very small child. He is very cunning, and under his command the Volturi defeated anything that was a threat to the people of Volterra and the surrounding countryside. However, the king of Volterra chose to refuse their protection, and as fate would have it he was murdered. The Volturi were called in to investigate. They discovered the king's murderer lead back to the leaders of a nearby city. An all out war ensued. The Volturi won. In the wake of the victory over, and acquisition of the warring city as part of Volterra, the citizens of Volterra gave over leadership to my father. Of course, he quickly named my uncles, Caius and Marcus, as his advisors."

Esme's voice became tight and almost angry as she continued her story. "Around the time I was your age, perhaps a little older, Aro became aware of a pair of very powerful witches; twins, actually. Their names were Jane and Alec. They were the worst kind of witches – casting mass hexes and curses at whoever so much as looked at them the wrong way. But though they used their powers as they pleased they did not seem to suffer the usual ill-effects. They were as beautiful as angels despite the suffering they had inflicted. On top of being witches they both also had formidable talents. Jane can put the suggestion of the most horrendous, debilitating pain into the minds of her opponents and Alec can deprive entire groups of people of all their senses.

"Of course, Aro was intrigued. By that time he had built a veritable army of some of the most talented witches, gifted magic users and skilled swordsmen. With Jane and Alec's gifts his army would be close to unstoppable. So when Jane offered not only their allegiance but also the secret that kept the twins safe from the corruption of dark magic and kept them eternally youthful, Aro was ecstatic. But there was a price – he had to leave my mother and marry her instead."

Bella, silent to that point, gasped in horror. "And he did it?!"

"Not exactly," Esme said slowly. "Publically, Aro continued to proclaim his undying love for my mother … but a few months later she died suddenly of an illness. Of course, I can't be certain, but I have long suspected that my father had a hand in her death. Shortly thereafter he _rehabilitated,_" Esme spat the word in a uncharacteristic snarl,"Jane and Alec from their evil ways and in the process fell in love with her, or that's the story they tell anyway. They pass off their supposed immortality as a gift from the Gods for their hard work and devotion."

Bella hardly knew what to think or say. She had known that Aro was powerful and evil, but to murder his own wife to gain immortality? This was evil on a level that Bella had not contemplated. "I'm so sorry."

Esme shook her head sadly and her face became gentle again. "It's hard to understand fate's design. There are times when I thank the gods for sending Carlisle to me. But it was my father's doing that he is in my life. In his growing need to possess the most talented individuals it was Aro who found Carlisle. He was fascinated by him, and intrigued by his power. He believed that Carlisle could bring people back from the dead if he were to really grasp the extent of his magical ability.

"Of course, Carlisle resisted pushing the limits of his abilities. He was trained to fight, and to use his healing gift in battle, but he believes in the separation of the body and the soul. Healing the body is scientific, so to speak. But affecting the soul? Coaxing it back into a body it has left?" Esme shook her head. "Carlisle could not believe playing god like that would not cost him something … important. Like the witches when they use their powers for hexes and curses of the body, their own bodies whither. Carlisle could not imagine risking his soul. Not when he saw Aro's actions becoming borderline unjustifiable.

"So, Aro started spending more time with him. He could not fathom someone having such a power – the ability to bring someone back to life – and not use it. One night, he invited Carlisle to dinner rather than cut off their discussion." Esme smiled at the memory. "In effect, it was Aro that brought Carlisle to me – something that would not have happened if he had not become who he is today."

Bella bit her lip, processing the story. "He was fond of Carlisle?"

"Oh, yes. Carlisle was a strong, charismatic and confident leader; even back then Aro could see that. Unlike most of the others he keeps around him, Carlisle would always speak his mind – respectfully, of course. Aro respected him for that." Esme smiled again.

Not wanting to hurt Esme, Bella almost didn't ask her next question. But in the end curiosity again got the better of her. "He didn't approve of your marriage though?" Bella watched as Esme's smile faltered. "I'm sorry," she said, immediately feeling horrible. "I'm just trying to understand."

With some effort, Esme smiled at Bella. "Please, sweetheart, don't worry. You will not offend me. As I said, you deserve to know." She took a steadying breath and began her story again. "It was a very difficult time for us, as you might imagine.

"I had – have, I suppose – a cousin named Chelsea. She and I are about the same age. While Aro was, in his way, a doting father, Chelsea was his pet. I, like my mother, was born without any magical talent where she is gifted.

"It became somewhat obvious that Aro was trying to unite Chelsea and Carlisle. This is when I truly began to see his powers of manipulation. Chelsea's gift gave her the ability to enhance or break relationships: an offshoot of her father and mother's, my uncle Marcus and Aunt Didyme's, gifts. At Aro's urging Chelsea was trying to enhance Carlisle's feelings for her," Esme laughed. "I don't think he even suspected, at the time, that we had been secretly seeing each other."

"I don't understand," Bella said, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. It was all so much to take in. "Why would Aro do that? Encourage Chelsea's relationship with him?"

"I suppose I couldn't say for sure," Esme said carefully. "It was always my assumption that he'd hoped a wife or a lover could persuade Carlisle to see his way as Aro himself had failed time and again." She shrugged the thought off and smiled fondly. "But by that time Carlisle and I were very much in love, and that bond is too strong to break.

"My Uncle Marcus can see relationships, and when he saw the strength of ours, we were inevitably outed to Aro. We requested his permission to marry right then. It was very shortly after my mother's death. It's true that he did refuse us, at first. I think it was his surprise. He was so caught up in his plotting with Chelsea. I know he hated the fact that he didn't know what was happening under his very nose. With his daughter and his protégé no less.

"But then he became very enthusiastic." Esme dropped her hands from Bella's hair, becoming utterly still and almost too quiet to hear. "He must have suspected that a union of our two families would produce a strong magical talent. Another reason he was encouraging Chelsea, more than likely.

Bella spun quickly in her seat and put a comforting hand over where Esme's sat on her lap. "You couldn't let yourself, your family be manipulated, so you ran?" Bella guessed. Esme nodded. "I can't even imagine how terrifying it must have been. But I would have done the same thing." She dropped her head shyly. "And I'm so glad you did."

Esme could see in Bella's eyes that she meant it. She would give up anything, her entire life, if it meant being with Edward, away from a future that was anything but their own choice. She squeezed the young woman's hand tightly. "My mother knew about us, even when my father did not. She loved Carlisle as a son. I asked her why once and she said it was because he was my choice and he was worth it. It is a sentiment I've carried over with my children, and their chosen partners." Esme caught Bella's eye in the mirror and her smile was full of a motherly tenderness. "She would have loved you too, dear."

Before Bella could answer Alice made a delighted noise. "She's perfect, Esme. Bella you look so beautiful. Edward is going to be beside himself."

And just like that the moment was broken. Bella struggled to readjust her grip on reality. Her mind was still far away in Volterra, wrapped up in Esme's story and the history of the Cullen family. She shook her head sharply to shake off the surreal feeling and come back to the present.

"No one is going to be looking at me today, Alice." Secretly, Bella was pleased at the thought of Edward getting some enjoyment out of her being forced to dress up, but she did not want to shift the spotlight away from Alice. After all, it was her wedding.

All three of the other women scoffed. "Who are you trying to kid Bella? Edward never takes his eyes off you on a regular day but right now? I'll be lucky if he remembers I exist."

Eyeing Alice's beautiful dress and head full of soft curls, Bella doubted that. Alice was a vision and Bella told her so. She was being truthful, but she also wanted to switch the subject back to the bride

About an hour later the four women descended the stairs to where Emmett, Carlisle and Edward waited. Edward's eyes took in Alice for all of a second before they sought out Bella. His sharp intake of breath could be heard from the top of the steps. "What did I tell you?" Alice whispered dryly.

As they neared the bottom of the steps Edward held out a hand to Bella, his eyes roaming her body as he appreciated the way the deep blue fabric hugged her curves and the graceful way the gown flowed to the floor. When she stepped onto the landing he brought her hand to his lips, kissing it grandly. "My lady," he said in greeting.

Off to the side Emmett had wrapped his arm around Rosalie's waist and pulled her close to him. His eyes, actually, everyone's eyes but Edward's were drawn to the sight in the center of the landing. Carlisle held Alice at arm's length, a stunning array of sentiments playing across his face. Joy. Pride. Awe. And just a hint of sadness.

"Fa," Alice said softly, "Are you crying?"

Carlisle cupped his daughter's cheek affectionately with one hand. "I thought I was ready for this moment, but it's just not possible," he mused aloud, his voice thick with restrained emotion. "My little girl. Watching you become a strong, beautiful woman has been one of the proudest experiences of my life, and I am so glad I've lived to see this day. Jasper is a good man, a good son, and he will make a fine husband."

"Oh, Fa," Alice was crying now. She wrapped her arms around her father's neck and they held each other for a few moments. Emmett had gathered a weepy Esme under his other arm and his dancing eyes caught Edward's. The brother's smiled at each other. Even Rosalie was smiling. Bella was amazed and honored to be part of this private moment. Watching this family she'd come to care about so deeply and with Edward's arm wrapped tightly around her, Bella felt surrounded by love.

Alice stepped back, wiping at her eyes. "It's time," she said with a sniffle. Of course, right then, the minstrels struck up a familiar song. The wedding party would be expected to enter in just a minute.

Esme pulled Alice into a final hug. "I wish you all the happiness in the world, my child," she whispered. She kissed Alice's cheek and went to take her seat in the common room.

Alice looked slightly frantic as she ran over to a coat of arms that adorned the wall. She peered into the reflection nervously, wiping her eyes again. "Do I look alright?"

"You're divine," Rosalie assured Alice sincerely. She took Alice's hand and tugged her lightly, guiding her back to Carlisle's side. "My brother is waiting for you."

That was all it took. Alice broke into a wide grin, forgetting to worry about her appearance. She was almost bouncing in place, suddenly very eager. Chuckling, Carlisle patted her arm soothingly. "Almost, dear," he assured her.

Rosalie and Emmett entered first, walking down the short aisle and parting, Emmett going to stand by Jasper. Edward and Bella followed. As they walked down the aisle, Edward squeezed Bella's hand comfortingly, knowing she was self-conscious with all the eyes in the room on her. Bella just reminded herself that this was important to Alice, and as soon as the bride stepped in the room no one, aside from Edward, would be looking at her.

When she and Edward had parted to take their places, Bella finally let herself look around. Her eyes fell first on Jasper. Resplendent in a beautifully embroidered dress tunic, his eyes were only for Alice who had finally made her appearance at the door. The look in his eyes was soft; gleaming with peace and adoration. His wide smile broadcasted his utter ecstasy as loud as if he were shouting.

Carlisle kissed Alice's hand once, his eyes still shining with tears, before placing it in Jasper's. He held his hand over their clasped hands for a moment before taking his seat next to Esme.

It was a beautiful ceremony. Alice and Esme had done an amazing job transforming the guild's common room into a beautiful chapel. The wedding party and Angela's father stood under a canopy of flowers, and all the benches in the hall had been arranged into rows to hold the guests. Each bench was adorned with a banner and more flowers.

At first, Bella tried to pay attention to Alice and Jasper, but her eyes kept wandering over to Edward. He was amazingly handsome in a dress tunic similar to Jasper's. His face was clean shaven and his hair slightly tamer and shorter than usual. When he caught her staring he grinned and winked. Bella felt her face flush at being caught and she tried to keep her eyes on the ceremony. But, as Alice and Jasper took their vows, Edward's look became impossibly tender. He mouthed, "I love you." Bella felt her heart fill with an incredible sense of joy. She felt cherished. Standing with Alice, her sister in so many real ways, as she married her true love and looking into the loving eyes of the man who was the rest of her life. Everything, in that moment, felt perfect.

The ceremony flowed seamlessly into the reception in the dining hall of the guild house. Dinner was, of course, extravagant and delicious. But the pièce de résistance was a 4-tier cake that was Bella's gift to Alice. Each tier was a different kind of cake. White cake with strawberry on the bottom, yellow and chocolate cake for the middle tiers, and the most moist angel food cake anyone had ever eaten on top, all frosted in white with dainty blue, purple and pink flowers scattered across the stop and down the sides.

When the meal had finished and almost every piece of Bella's cake had been devoured, the minstrels took their place to the side of the room and began playing. Jasper guided his new wife out onto the floor.

The dining table was at the head of the room, and everything else had been pushed back to leave a wide space for dancing. Edward sat in one of the large, throne-like chairs that were scattered around the edge of the room. He pulled Bella to him and she sat on his lap, automatically wrapping her arms around his neck. For many easy minutes they sat quietly, Bella watching the festivities and Edward mostly watching her. As usual, he found himself fascinated by her smile; the sound of her gentle laughter as she watched everyone dance.

Edward brushed the hair off the shoulder nearest to him. He pulled down the light fabric that covered her shoulder and started to place slow, slightly wet kisses on her skin. He wound his arms tighter around her waist, finding her hands and threading his long fingers with hers. She sighed contentedly, leaning back against his chest and tilting her head as his lips left a cool trail up the skin of her neck.

"Bella," he said, his lips brushing against her ear.

"Yes?" The word came out as no more than a breath as he continued to kiss her skin.

He kissed her cheek and then the edge of her mouth until she turned her head slightly, her lips seeking his. "Dance with me," he requested. Without giving her a chance to answer he started kissing her at the same slow, simmering pace.

Bella could feel her blood begin to boil with need. Every time she tried to deepen the kiss he would shift, his lips always teasing her. Bella growled half heartedly against his mouth. "You cheat," she sighed when he finally broke away entirely. He chuckled, nuzzling her neck with the tip of his nose. He was well aware of his powers of persuasion. She sighed again. "I can't dance," she said perfunctorily. Her voice held none of the conviction it had when she was really adamant about a point, but she was stubborn. Just a little more convincing….

Luckily their hands were only loosely held together because in the next second Emmett had lifted Bella out of Edward's arms. He held her fast against his broad chest, one arm firm around her waist and the other holding one of her arms out. Startled, Bella wrapped her free arm around his torso. Her feet didn't touch the floor.

"Emmett, you have your own. This one's mine," Edward protested, standing and reaching for Bella.

Emmett's booming laugh shook Bella's entire frame as he stepped back. "Sorry, brother. I can't help if I am more _convincing_ than you. Besides, father has claimed Rosalie's attention for the moment. She says he's better dancer anyway," he laughed again. "Come on Bella, I know you'll dance with me."

"Do I have a choice?" Bella asked with a laugh. She kicked her feet slightly against his shins.

Emmett grinned widely. "Not at all!" he said jubilantly, and then danced them both away from Edward to the jaunty tune the players had just begun.

Knowing he had lost the battle at least for that moment, Edward shook his head and crossed his arms as he watched them. "Why didn't I think of that?"

The high pitched giggle coming from behind him was not surprising. He had heard Alice's mental amusement as she watched her brothers' exchange. "You were about this close to winning that argument," she said, coming up beside him. Edward shifted and tucked his sister under his arm without taking his eyes off Bella. Alice watched him with a satisfied grin on her face. _Not that you weren't having fun convincing her._

Edward looked down at his sister and mussed her hair. She squealed, pushing at him in an attempt to get away but he held her fast, grinning and finally looking at her in full. She was absolutely glowing today, her face lit up with pure happiness. He and Alice had always been close. She didn't need to hear the words that the look in his eyes conveyed. He was happy. Happy for her, and happy with Bella. It was entirely unlike his mood at Emmett's wedding. Yes, he had been happy for his brother, but there was a part of him that was also jealous. At that time, just a year and a half previous, it had seemed as if he would be alone forever.

The siblings smiled at each other before turning back to watch their significant others.

Across the room Jasper was dancing with Esme. Seeming to sense Alice's eyes on him, he looked up and broke into a radiant grin. He was only distracted when Emmett danced up, setting Bella down next to him. Jasper exchanged a few words with his new brother and nodded at whatever Emmett had asked. He kissed Esme's cheek before bowing gracefully to Bella. She only hesitated a moment before letting Jasper guide her into his arms. Jasper and Bella resumed the dance at a slower, easier pace while Emmett pulled Esme into a more complicated set of steps, throwing a pointed look at his wife and father. Not to be outdone, Carlisle and Rosalie fell into step after them, the four of them quickly becoming the center of attention on the dance floor.

After a few words of encouragement from Jasper, Bella seemed to be moving a little easier in their dance. But she would get caught up, giggling at the mini dance competition going on in the middle of the floor, and she would step on Jasper's foot or stumble a bit out of time. Each time she did Edward would let out a chuckle.

"She completes us, you know," Alice said quietly and Edward couldn't help but smile at the thought."She makes our family whole." In her mind Alice was already picturing the day when Bella would truly be her sister. Edward's breath caught as a vision passed through Alice's head – a single image. He and Bella knelt in the meadow where they'd first professed their love. They were holding hands, midway through the vows of their own wedding. She was dressed in soft colors, a crown of white flowers adorning her head with her hair flowing loose, wavy and lovely down her back. Both of their faces were awash in happiness and pure devotion.

Edward's heart quickened with the thought, with the utter joy at the concept of making Bella his wife. His eyes began to smolder as he watched her, a fierce hunger overtaking him. He needed Bella back in his arms.

Edward leaned down, scooping Alice up and over his shoulder without warning or much thought. His decision was almost instinctual and so she had no time to process the vision before she was draped over his shoulder. "Edward!" she screeched. He ignored the tiny fists pummeling his back and the amused thoughts of the crowd as he strode to where Jasper and Bella were dancing.

"You there!" he said, getting Jasper's attention. "You have something I want. I am prepared to offer you a trade: This little whelp for your stunning dance partner."

Alice slapped Edward's back in protest as Jasper pretended to mull the offer over. "Jasper Hale I swear I will make you spend your wedding night locked outside the door of our room!" she threatened.

Wide eyed, Jasper immediately turned to Bella. "Miss Swan, it seems my bride is in need of rescuing from this brute here. You're a formidable woman. I have no doubt you have the skill to tame the beast."

Bella nodded her understanding, pretending to look grave. Edward passed Alice to Jasper. As he took her in his arms he held her tiny body against him for a moment before setting her down as if she was made of the most delicate glass. He kept his arm around her, obviously forgetting their audience as he murmured, "My lady. My wife," and leaned down to kiss her.

Bella looked away as the moment became too personal to watch. She found Edward's eyes on her and could stop neither her answering smile nor her fluttering heartbeat. Even after nearly 2 months together his affect on her had not slackened. He reached out, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, enjoying the pink flush from her recent exertions. "You are so beautiful," he said. He leaned in, pressing his cheek against hers, reveling in the warmth against his skin. "Dance with me Bella."

She let out a shaky laugh, her body trembling slightly. When she spoke her voice was breathy. "Well, since your brothers have already had their way with me, it seems rude not to say yes when you're being so polite."

The players had picked up the change in atmosphere of the room. As their jig ended, they took up a much slower song with a mellow beat. Edward pulled Bella close to him just as the rest of his family and gathered friends did the same with their partners.

They began to dance slowly, swaying gently to the beat. As he looked into her eyes she smiled back at him with complete adoration. With a start, he recognized the look on her face from Alice's vision – the one that had both plagued him and taunted him for so many long weeks as he tried to stay away from her. He knew that his eyes were tender and filled with the overwhelming passion he felt for the woman he held in his arms.

Remembering how the vision cut off, torturing him, Edward leaned down and kissed her, soft and slow and languid. He swept his tongue along her bottom lip and her mouth opened, their tongues meeting and stroking at the same, slow, sensual pace. He felt heavily satisfied that he could finally see the vision through to the end.

But even as he reveled in the sweet taste and sensation of her mouth and body moving with his, Edward could not forget the vision that Alice had seen first. As much as he tried to push it from his mind and simply enjoy being with Bella, there was a part of him that was always waiting for the other foot to fall and for his happiness, his very world, to come crashing down around him.

**Couple things. 1) I'm going to take this time to remind you that Edward and crew are human. As such, though their powers are much the same, they are not able to use them in the same way. As humans, they can't process thoughts at the same speed and without vampire recall they can't catch everything. Keep this in mind with Edward, Alice and later Aro especially. 2) My friends Mike, Jennifer and Audrey are beautiful amazing people for listening to me and looking over my little story.  
**


	3. The Volturi

**A/N: Check my profile for a family tree if you get confused. ****J **

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

"Irina," a strong, melodic voice called to Irina Denali across the lawn. Irina turned her horse to the figure that was jogging torward her briskly.

"Cousin!" Irina greeted Edward cheerfully. While they were not blood family, Irina and her sisters, Tanya and Katrina, had been brought up very close to the Cullen children. They considered themselves cousins by preference.

She wondered if Edward's presence had anything to do with the conversation she'd overheard between him and her uncle Eleazar earlier this morning. Honestly she had not meant to eavesdrop. She'd merely been getting her horse ready for the journey she was about to set out on when Eleazar and Edward had come into the stables mid-conversation.

Edward sighed, obviously picking up on her thoughts. "No, it's not about that. That was my fault and anyway, I don't think you heard anything I wouldn't have wanted you to."

"Then how can I help you, Edward? I was just about to set out for Volterra," Irina said, not unkindly.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually." Edward's smile was easy but there was a wariness Irina could see behind his eyes. "Your sister said you were going alone?"

Irina smiled. Always the gentleman, that one. "I'm only travelling alone as far as the next town, and then I'm joining one of the caravans heading out there."

"But you'll be in Volterra alone?" Edward pressed.

"Yes." Irina's smile faltered a bit. She didn't like the implication that she couldn't handle herself in a large city. Particularly one that was as safe as Volterra was known to be. The Cullen family had always had a particular dislike of the city. They avoided any travel anywhere in the same vicinity at all costs. Irina personally thought it was ridiculous.

"Please don't misunderstand. You are a more than capable woman and I'd pity any being that tried to attack you, but still. I must admit, Volterra makes me…nervous." Edward averted his eyes, patting her horse's mane absently as he tried to appear nonchalant. "May I ask the purpose of your trip?"

"Recreational. I haven't been back to Volterra since…well, since my mother passed and St. Marcus' Festival will be in full swing when I arrive." She grinned, giving Edward a cheeky smirk as she knew he could see in her thoughts the kind of festivities she'd be partaking in. After all, there were not an abundance of interesting men in a city the size of Forkshire. "Besides," Irina continued aloud, "I could use a break from my sisters and Aunt Carmen."

Edward smirked back at her. "Yes, as much as you love them, occasionally it can be good to get away from your family."

Irina studied him for a moment. "I suspect it's family that's making you this…nervous." Off of Edward's grimace she continued, "You know I don't share your feelings on Aro and his brothers, cousin. Aro is a benevolent ruler who keeps his people from harm, but I know your family well enough to understand there must be a good reason you distrust your own grandsire. Either way, even if I should run into any of your extended family – which I sincerely doubt will happen - I can't imagine that there's anything in my memories that would interest Aro."

Irina's voice was almost regretful as she said this last part. Edward knew well that not only did Irina not share his viewpoint on Aro, Caius and Marcus but she very nearly worshipped them. Her mother, Sasha, had been killed in Volterra – many years ago, when Irina was a year old, Tanya was 2 and Katrina was 4. It was the Volturi that caught her mother's murderer and put him swiftly to justice. Irina wanted nothing more than to be able to thank Aro and his brothers personally.

"You're probably right." The edge did not leave Edward's eyes though he smiled up at her genuinely. "Be safe on your journey, Irina. We will miss you here." He squeezed her hand to convey the sincerity of his words and then turned back to the guild hall.

Irina traveled for most of the day before arriving in the next town as night was falling. Hungry and tired, she made her way to the town's one Inn, only to find it packed with travelers. Sure enough, the innkeeper confirmed that he had given away the last room a while before.

As a member of a guild whose assignments took them to distant lands, Irina was not unused to sleeping on forest floor, or in fields, or pretty much anywhere else she could. However this was a vacation so she knew her face was heavy with the disappointment she felt.

"I beg your pardon." A smooth, gently accented voice broke Irina out of her thoughts. She turned to find a delicious looking man leaning torward her. His body was lean and muscular; a well formed six-pack peeking out from behind the vest he wore open. He had a head full of dark dreadlocks and a handsome face with an inviting smile. Irina felt her eyebrows raise and the edge of her mouth quirk up involuntarily as she looked at him. His smile became a smirk. "I could not help but overhear your troubles," he continued. He looked her up and down, smiling appreciatively. "A lady as beautiful as you should not have to sleep on the ground and I do have a room all to myself."

This stranger had an unbelievable amount of self confidence and Irina had to laugh. "You're offering me a place to _sleep_ for the night, are you?"

Again the handsome stranger smirked and he leaned closer. "Looking at you, sleep is the last thing on my mind," he said in a silky voice. He had the satisfaction of watching Irina tremble slightly at his nearness before he backed up a few inches. "However, my travelling mates and I were about to find some dinner. How about you join us for a meal and we'll see where the night takes us?"

The stranger looked entirely too pleased with himself. Not one to give up the upper hand, Irina leaned close to the stranger and licked his cheek, languidly. She smirked victoriously when she heard his sharp gasp and put her lips close to his ear. "Sounds delicious," she purred seductively.

He blinked at her for several seconds before laughing loudly. "I am Laurent," he said, putting a hand at the small of her back to lead her forward. He gestured to a couple who were leaning against the wall, staring over at them with amused expressions. "These are Victoria," he indicated a woman with the most wild, curly and vividly red hair Irina had ever seen, "And James," he indicated a very good looking man with his dirty blond hair tied back into a pony tail.

"I am Irina," she said, nodding at them in greeting.

The foursome made their way to a tavern across from the inn and settled at a table. A round of ale later and they were deep in discussion. Laurent, Victoria and James were nomadic adventurers. They had no permanent home and offered their services up at a price. James was skilled in the arts of the monks where Victoria and Laurent were both followers of the rogue class. Both monks and rogues were stealthy and deadly – monks with their bare hands and rogues with their quick, sharp daggers. It explained James' bare feet in any event, and the very light, tight skinned shoes Victoria and Laurent wore as opposed to the boots that adorned the feet of most travelers.

"What kind of work do you get with your particular brand of services?" Irina asked, intrigued.

Laurent chuckled, stretching his arm around the back of her chair and running a finger down her back while Victoria answered her question. "It can be anything. But with James we are particularly good at…hunting." It didn't escape Irina's notice that Victoria had leaned into James, her voice and smug smile betraying her pride in her man.

The small motion of James pressing his hand into Victoria's side and her corresponding, quiet yelp of pain did not escape Irina's notice either. Obviously, James did not like how much she had revealed about him. Catching Irina's eyes on them, he put on a smile, speaking for the first time that evening. "I'm usually able to get us the most interesting jobs," he said in a polite, disarming voice. "_Finding_," he emphasized the word, "people or creatures that may have evaded justice or just owed our financier something."

Finding was a much looser term, not as aggressive as hunting, Irina noted. She smiled back at James, allowing him to believe that he had covered up any suspicions she might have. Honestly, she was more curious than anything. In this land where there was no set standard of rules and people in the country frequently went without any sort of justice, vigilantism was normal. Irina herself was a purist when it came to only one thing: murderers should pay for their crimes with their own blood.

They set about eating the food that was placed in front of them as their conversation continued. Victoria seemed amused when Irina mentioned where she was from. "Well, that's perfect Laurent, you don't have a girl in Forkshire." Victoria said in a far from innocent purr.

Laurent glared at his traveling companion but Victoria had already turned to Irina. "Our Laurent is quite the lady's man, as you might imagine. A girl in every town. You might really round out his collection." She batted her eyelashes innocently.

Irina ran one fingernail gently down Laurent's cheek along the same path that her tongue had made earlier, tossing a wicked glance in Victoria's direction. She didn't know what game the girl was playing at, but she was certainly going to win. "Having a man travel so many miles for the pleasure of my company is not abnormal." She trailed her fingernail down his neck, his chest, stopping when she got to his abs and splaying her whole hand across the muscles there. "I can share if he can," she said in a low voice.

It only took a moment for Laurent's shock to wear off and a wide grin to appear across his face. He reached up, tugging lightly on the long braid of hair that sat on Irina's shoulder to bring her forward, and his mouth collided with hers, communicating his lust through his lips.

"You're quite the minx," Laurent growled when they finally broke. She heard James snicker, but there was no response from Victoria. When Irina looked up the girl was almost pouting, obviously enraged. Irina recognized the jealousy and instantly figured out what Victoria's problem must be. She was with James, of that there was no doubt, but she was used to the attention of both her companions, regardless of her preference to one. It didn't help matters that James had been ogling her chest for a good portion of the evening – something Victoria was unlikely to have missed.

A plan began to formulate in Irina's head that would both win the game they were playing and likely gain her a trio of traveling companions for the long road to Volterra. By then dessert had been brought to the table and Victoria was hiding her irritation by picking at one of the sugared pastries. Irina slid over in her seat until her leg was touching Victoria's. She picked up her hand and held it fast despite the girl's immediate reaction to yank it back.

"However, you," Irina said, bringing Victoria's hand up, "Victoria. I can't imagine how many men and women alike would come to you if they could." She brought her tongue out, licking the tip of Victoria's finger. "I know I would travel far for just a taste," she said before plunging Victoria's finger in her mouth. Victoria's eyes widened and then she grinned. She brought the second finger up and plunged it between Irina's lips.

James' eyebrow quirked up at the scene before him. He caught Laurent's eye, snickering again at his companion's slack jawed expression. He was practically salivating. "Pay the bill. I think it's high time we retired for the evening."

***

2 Weeks On

"I was beginning to think it did not exist." Irina murmured as the stone gates of Volterra finally came into view. It was impossible not to be awed by the ancient city. Though she had traveled much in her lifetime Irina had never seen a city the size of Volterra. At least, she did not remember it having been only a year old the last time she was here. The wall that surrounded it was immense – much too high to climb and impressive on its own.

A chuckle came from her side as Laurent brought his horse in step with hers. "Something funny?" she asked, raising a single thin eyebrow.

"If only you could see your face right now," Laurent chuckled. "You look like a child seeing her first snowfall. If I did not know better, I would never guess you are a fierce warrior woman."

Irina smiled at Laurent as their caravan rode into the city. As they passed, Irina took in the mixture of races she saw. Of course, as a traveler she had seen most every type of being but never all at once as they were here. There were dwarves, gnomes, elves, giants – walking the streets or peddling their wares.

After a dinner that was the best meal Irina had had since the night she met Laurent and his companions, James lead them to a two story home on the very outskirts of the city. Irina could tell from the various dark creatures hanging about that this was not the kind of home one might expect to find reputable company. Laurent, Victoria and James walked right in as if they owned the place.

"Riley," Victoria called out.

After a moment a grubby looking but handsome young man, only a few scant years out of boyhood, came around the corner. He had been scowling but at the sight of Victoria he grinned widely. "Victoria! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

James turned slightly so he could share an eye roll with Laurent. Victoria leaned in, smiling her most seductive smile. She played with the fringes of the coat Riley wore. "Riley, my dear Riley. My companions and I were hoping you'd kept a room free for us."

Riley's grin faltered. "St. Marcus Festival begins tomorrow, Victoria," he hedged.

"I know, silly boy. That's what we're doing here," Victoria continued, as if oblivious to Riley's implication. She ran the back of her hand down his cheek and the boy closed his eyes. "I know you have something for us," Victoria's voice was a sing-song. "Don't play hard to get." As she said this last part she leaned so close to him that their faces were almost touching.

"Well, maybe there's one room," Riley said breathily. He looked dazed, his eyes hooded as he leaned in.

Victoria jumped back clapping her hands together. "Oh, Riley I knew I could count on you!"

Irina hid a chuckle as a cough at Victoria's blatant manipulation of the lad. Riley seemed confused. "It's just one room," he said as he attempted to shake off whatever power Victoria seemed to have over him.

"That's fine," James suddenly spoke up. Riley seemed startled that there was anyone else in the room. "Our little group doesn't mind sharing." His voice was somewhat boastful as he threw one arm around Victoria and the other around Irina. He didn't notice Laurent's frown at this gesture.

Riley's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as he caught the implication. "I-I'll j-just, I'll…I'll be right back then." He took off down the hallway to his left, throwing an incredulous and awed look over his shoulder as he ran.

A few moments later a loud arguing could be heard down the hall, coming from the room Riley had disappeared into. It took Irina a moment to realize the shrieks were in Elfish. One of them in Riley's deep, now irritated tone and the other in a reedier, feminine voice. Not entirely fluent in Elfish, Irina had to concentrate to catch everything.

"_You said I could stay. Fifteen minutes ago you were begging me to stay"_ the high pitched voice said, her voice pleading.

_"A man will say anything when he is buried so deep in something so tight," _Riley retorted, and Irina winced. That was harsh. "_Here. Take this and leave."_

There was only a brief pause before the feminine voice came back, furious. "_This is a pittance. I'll hardly be able to eat."_

There was another pause and when he spoke again, Riley seemed gentler. There was a tinge of regret in his voice. "_Stop by the kitchen and get something to eat before you leave. But _leave_."_

_"Riley," _the girl spoke in a pitiful, frightened voice. "_Please, I have nowhere else to go._"

Apparently growing tired of waiting, Victoria rolled her eyes and called out. "Is that room ready Riley? I am very tired."

Irina narrowed her eyes slightly at the back of Victoria's head but said nothing. She had already known the girl was selfish. Instead she cocked her head again, listening down the hallway. She barely caught Riley's sigh. "_That is not my problem Bree. I'm very sorry."_

After a little bit of rummaging a figure emerged from the bedroom. She was smaller in stature than even the diminutive Alice Cullen. Everything about her was dirty, from her tattered shoes to the dirt on her face. Even the tips of the elfin, graceful ears that peeked out from her dull brown hair were smudged with grime. Immediately Irina's heart stuttered. The girl could not have been more than 16 years old.

Bree stopped abruptly when she saw the four of them standing in the doorway. She looked startled and stared particularly at Victoria who was standing with her hands on her hips, smirking down at the little street urchin. The look in the girl's eyes hardened at Victoria's smirk. She shifted the small pack on her back, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders as she walked passed them without a word. Irina stopped the urge to stop her and give her a little cash. Likely it would have destroyed the only shred of dignity the little elf had.

A few minutes later Riley came out of the room. "I'm sorry about that. Your room is ready now," he said, gesturing down the hallway.

The boy lingered in the doorway as the travelers settled in. Irina noticed the way he was looking at Victoria and shared a smirk with Laurent. He was still young enough to be naïve about the wild woman.

Riley cleared his throat, still looking at Victoria. "I've had a bathhouse installed since the last time you were in town…," he began.

James suddenly stepped into Riley's sight, tilting his head to the side and smiling down at the boy. "A bath. That's a novelty for people like us." He reached out, pulling Victoria to him and making Riley watch as he kissed her neck. Victoria threw her head back with a giggle. "How long has it been since we've had a proper bath, kitten?" he practically growled against her skin.

"Oh, ages," Victoria practically purred.

James turned back to Riley. "Lead the way."

Of course, Riley had no choice but to show his guests to the bathhouse.

Irina watched them disappear around a corner of the house, chuckling with sympathy for the boy. "It really is devious what they're doing with that child." She was distracted when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Hmm. The whelp will learn. You should be more concerned with what I want to do to you," he said into her ear. "Finally," he continued, pulling her backward into the room. He used his foot to push the door closed as his hands snaked up her sides, sending chills all through Irina's body. "I thought I'd never have you to myself." He turned her around, backing her against the closed door and quickly pressing his body against hers. "Again."

Chuckling, Irina trailed her nails along his bare chest, forgetting all about the pitiable boy.

Laurent had just moved his hands to the ties that kept her riding pants up when a blood curdling male scream sent them reeling back. Immediately following the man's terrifying scream a more shrill voice began shrieking. Both voices came from the hallway very near to the door Irina and Laurent stood behind. In near synchronicity they both crouched into defensive positions, going for the weapons they'd laid on the table. When they were armed Irina cautiously opened the door.

Several other inhabitants of the little slum were similarly peering out of their doors, various weapons drawn and ready. The shrieking continued without stopping and once she saw there was no danger in the hallway Irina took off torward the horrible sound. She was vaguely aware of feet following her and glanced over her shoulder to see both James and Laurent, the former bare-chested as he had obviously been in the midst of undressing for his bath.

Finally arriving in the entrance hall they'd been standing in half an hour before, Irina found the source of the screaming immediately. Covered in blood, with a knife still clutched in her outstretched hand, was the little elf Bree. She was utterly hysterical, her eyes wide and fixed on the crumpled figure that lay face down on the floor in an ever widening pool of crimson. Riley.

"What have you done, girl! What have you done?!" a man shouted in horror. Even in this den of thieves, criminals and low-lives, a great shock ran throughout the room. No one committed murder in Volterra.

James stepped forward, his face harsh and teeth gritted. He grabbed the girl by her shoulders, hauling her up from the ground. The motion jarred her and she stopped shrieking, staring at him with those same wide, confused eyes. "You didn't think this through, girl." He shook her as he spoke. "You know the penalty for murder."

He looked over his shoulder and pointed to a scruffy looking, scrap of a boy. "You – run as quickly as you can and get the guards."

This brought Bree back to life. As the boy scampered away she began screaming again. "No, no. I didn't mean it. It was an accident, I swear it."

She began to thrash wildly and the knife still clutched in her hand grazed James' bare chest. He yelled, letting go of her. The girl pivoted and started to run but Irina quickly tackled her to the ground, pinning the hand that held the knife above her head.

"Drop it, girl." Irina commanded, but Bree was beyond understanding now. She strained, and screamed and kicked under Irina's iron grip. Irina squeezed a pressure point, causing Bree to cry out and drop the knife.

James grabbed the struggling girl away from Irina, pinning her quickly against a wall. Again the impact was enough to bring some lucidity to the girl. "Please," Bree begged. "Just let me go. I'll leave the city. Just let me go. I didn't mean it."

"It doesn't matter what you meant," Victoria said harshly, having come into the room shortly after James and Irina had. She came to stand behind James, staring at Bree with baleful eyes. "You tried to stab James just minutes after you committed murder, and now you beg for sympathy? Don't you realize, girl? If we let you go we pay the price with our own lives."

At that moment, the bedraggled boy came back through the door with two guards at his heels. The guards had the Volturi's crest on their armor. These were Aro's own men.

"Where is the murderer?" the first one barked. The gathered crowed yelled and gestured at Bree, still pinned against the wall by James. James stepped back as the guards approached. As soon as his grip on her lessened Bree tried to run. Of course, she did not get far before the guards were on her, throwing her roughly to the floor. She shrieked and kicked and clawed, ignoring the guard's commands to stop. She had started babbling in Elfish, screaming that she was sorry and that it was an accident.

Irina watched, her heart twisting in a bizarre ache. On the one hand she believed wholeheartedly the murder should be punished by death. An eye for an eye. But the girl had been wronged so terribly and she was so very young. Bree's struggled did not lessen and Irina could see the first, gruff guard begin to raise his hand to strike the child.

"Bree," Irina called out in a clear voice, easily heard above the ruckus. She spoke to the girl in her own language to that it might get through to her. "_Do not fight them. They will win. You cannot hope to fight your fate now. Acceptance will only make it easier for you_."

The kindness in her voice and eyes made Irina's words break through to the girl. She sagged against the bloody floor, her defenses disarmed. She sobbed – desperately frightened keening noises filling the room as the gruff guard shackled her arms behind her back and dragged her to her feet.

Once the first guard had a firm hold on Bree, the second guard, who had really only watched until then, turned to the crowd. His startling green eyes were familiar to Irina, but before she could place them she found that the second guard was staring at her chest. His eyes flicked up to her face and then to Laurent who had come to stand beside her. His eyes scanned the room again falling on James.

"You four," he gestured to them. "Consider your presence formally requested. Follow me."

"Why?" James protested. "This is not our business."

The guard raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, be that as it may, you are covered in blood," his eyes flicked down to James' chest which was indeed streaked with Riley's blood. Irina belatedly realized that his ogling a moment ago had had nothing to do with her chest and more to do with the stained state of her shirt. "You have nothing to worry about as long as you were not the one to commit this act. Lord Aro will simply want as many of the details as possible. So, please, follow me."

Obviously annoyed but seeing no way around it, James put his arm around Victoria's shoulders and followed the gruff guard with Bree out of the house. Irina and Laurent fell into step behind them with the green-eyed guard bringing up the rear.

Outside the house a carriage waited. The wagon of the carriage had been modified from a canvas canopy to long metal strips. It was obviously made to hold and transport prisoners. James balked when, after pushing the still crying Bree into the back, the guards gestured for the four companions to get in. The green-eyed guard chuckled. "I am offering a ride only. The castle is across the city."

"We have horses," James countered.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist," the guard said, politely. There was a hint of menace to his voice that spoke volumes. Obviously, things would not go well if they resisted and so they climbed into the wagon without further fuss.

Once the guards had gone around front to drive the carriage James whispered something to Victoria. She shook her head and Irina heard her say, "I don't get any sense of danger."

The ride across the city took over half an hour as near as Irina could tell. She mused that she could walk across all of Forkshire in less time than that. The castle itself outshone Forkshire's tiny castle by far. The gigantic stone structure occupied the vast majority of the back wall of the city. In fact, they rode alongside the front of the grounds for 10 minutes before they came to the entrance.

They were escorted through the depths of the castle, Irina taking in the eclectic and ornate collection of paintings, tapestries and statues as they walked. She recognized a lot of the art, but some of it was lost to her. She realized that Aro and his brothers must collect pieces from every culture and every race.

Irina was distracted from her pondering when they were brought into a huge room. It was, without a doubt, the largest room she had ever been in. _The largest room, in the largest castle in the largest city_, Irina thought and for some reason the sense of enormity brought back her adopted cousin's worried expression. Ridiculously, seeing as Irina had done nothing wrong, she felt insignificant and anxious.

Shaking her head to dispel the uncomfortable feeling, Irina looked ahead to where they were approaching a dais on which three thrones stood. In those thrones were three figures. Behind them, quietly off to the side, were a handful of other figures.

Irina was struck by the figure in the middle. Aro, it could be no one else. His hair was the exact jet black shade of Alice's and he was similar in facial features. Aro's deep, black eyes were bright, filled with curiosity, again so much like Alice's when she was excited about something.

To Aro's left was a taller, scowling figure. Caius. Though his hair was chalk white his eyes were green. The same shade as Esme and Edward. And of the guard that brought them in. Irina realized belatedly that he must be related in some way to Aro or Caius.

Of course, that meant that the bored looking figure to Aro's right was Marcus. He stared forward, unsmiling, his eyes not focused on anything in particular. He looked for all the world like a man who was simply existing.

The guards knelt on one knee, forcing Bree down on her knees with them, bowing in respect to the three figures. Irina followed suit quickly, followed by Laurent and, more reluctantly, James and Victoria.

"Rise," Aro commanded. His voice was surprisingly silky and gentle. Somehow Irina had always expected Volterra's leader to be more gruff and imposing.

"Father," the gruff guard spoke, startling Irina as she had not stopped to consider his relation to the men in front of her. "There has been a murder in the west city. We bring you the murderess." Irina lifted an eyebrow

"So I see. You've done well my sons." Aro nodded at the two guards. These must be Felix and Demitri, Irina noted mentally, Aro's sons with his second wife, Jane. "What is your name young one?"

Bree stared at him, obviously mute with terror. Her eyes were wide and her skin drained of any color. She was shaking visibly.

Aro smiled kindly at her. "Bring her closer, Demitri," he commanded. The green eyed guard propelled her forward until she was right in front of Aro. He lifted his hand and Bree flinched backward, expecting to be struck. Aro chuckled softly. "I'm not going to hurt you young one. I simply want your story. Let me see for myself through your memories what happened."

With that he put a hand on the bare skin of her cheek. He looked almost like a loving father greeting his daughter tenderly. Aro closed his eyes. His gift of seeing other people's every thought and memory through touch was well known. It was part of the reason the people of Volterra trusted Aro absolutely. If he saw every crime, every intention as though with his own eyes, he could judge with absolute certainty.

The throne room was entirely silent save for Bree's hiccupping gasps as she tried to calm herself and the occasional shifting from one of the watching parties. Aro remained, head bowed, eyes closed, with his hand on Bree's cheek for almost 10 minutes. Then, apropos of nothing Irina could tell, his eyes opened and he leaned back in his chair, one hand under his chin and looking deep in thought.

"I didn't mean it," Bree blurted suddenly, her voice shaking.

Aro looked up at her and his smile was again, gentle. "Regardless of your intentions, young Bree, your deeds are done. I'm afraid the case here is clear." He nodded at his sons and they both began to drag the young girl away. She began screaming and kicking again but Demitri and Felix were stronger. Her screams echoed through the room and down the hallway.

Irina was surprised at the sickness she felt for the girl's fate. She was just not used to it, that was all, she tried to tell herself. In Forkshire the prisoners the guild often caught were kept in a jail until they could be given a trial. In simple cases a trio of judges decided the fate of the prisoner. In more complicated cases, and in any murder case, the fate of the accused was decided by a jury of the townspeople.

Irina believed whole heartedly in justice, but Bree was just a child. It seemed a waste of a life that had obviously been difficult and cruel. In Forkshire those facts would have been taken into consideration. Here, Aro and Aro alone had complete control over everyone's fate. Again, Edward's worried expression came back to Irina and again she pushed it away. The girl had committed murder and now she would face the consequences.

As Irina had been thinking Aro had turned his attention to the four companions in front of him. He gestured at James. Half naked and covered in blood as he was, he did look the most suspicious. "Your name young man?"

"James."

The corners of Aro's mouth quirked at James' harsh voice. "You have nothing to fear from me young man, I have seen you were not involved in the death of… Riley, was it? I am not here to judge you for any crimes you might have committed outside my city. I merely want to be sure there is nothing I've missed." He extended a palm forward.

Reluctantly, James pressed his hand against Aro's.

A few minutes later he dropped his hand and gave a rueful smile to James. "How very rude of me. Here it is so close to winter and you must be very cold." As he spoke he took the cloak from his shoulders and handed it to James. James glanced at Victoria who nodded infinitesimally that Aro was sincere and then he took the cloak from him with a mumbled 'thank you'. Aro threw his head back, his laugh startling the four companions. "How very fascinating. Yours and Victoria's dynamic is very well suited for your chosen, eh, profession."

"It is getting late and you must be eager to get clean and into bed. I insist that you stay with us, as our guests for the evening at least." Aro gestured over his shoulder and one of the figures that had been sitting off quietly came forward. It was a woman, around Esme's age.

"Yes, Uncle?"

Ah, this must be Chelsea. She knew Caius had no children and Marcus had a girl, Chelsea, with his now departed wife, Aro and Caius' sister Didyme. She recalled the Didyme had died five years previous. The blessing that kept Aro, Caius and their wives young somehow had never applied to her. She had aged, and she had died. Her funeral was the one time Aro had seen his grandchildren as Esme and Carlisle had attended at Marcus' request. Irina remembered how they had worried about it, a fact that she had always thought was beyond ridiculous.

"Chelsea, my dear one. Will you and Afton please show James, Victoria and Laurent to the guest suites?" Irina's head snapped up, not missing that her name was not mentioned. Aro's eyes were on her. "Irina, if you don't mind, I'd like to chat with you a little more."

James' eyes narrowed as he looked questioningly at Irina. She shrugged, honestly having no idea what he wanted. He kept his eyes on Irina for a beat longer before wrapping his arms around Victoria again and turning to Chelsea and the handsome looking man about her same age that had joined her. Laurent looked downright worried. Irina smiled, reassuring him with an emotion she herself did not feel. She reached out and squeezed his hand, encouraging him silently to go with Chelsea.

Once her three companions, Chelsea and Afton had departed, Irina turned back to Aro.

"Please don't be alarmed dear one," Aro said soothingly. "I saw in James' thoughts that you are from Forkshire. A member of the Cullen's guild, are you not?"

At his announcement several of the other people gathered let out small gasps. Caius narrowed his eyes at Irina, his scowl deepening. Irina held her head high. Obviously there was some mutual dislike between the Volturi and the Cullens. "That's correct my Lord." She lifted her wrist showing off the bracelet she wore with the Cullen crest.

"Please," Aro chuckled. "Call me Aro." His eyes turned sad and his smile became tighter. "Despite what you may have heard from my daughter and her husband, I would consider any member of the Cullen household a friend of mine, and I hope you will do the same."

Irina grimaced, somewhat uncomfortable. "In all honesty my L-, Aro," she corrected herself, "Esme and Carlisle have never said an ill word about you. They are merely…wary. Myself, I do not pretend to understand their feelings and they have never offered an explanation."

Aro nodded. "It is a regrettable set of circumstances and misunderstandings. My biggest regret is that I have not had a chance to get to know my grandchildren, and to that end I would like to ask you a favor."

"If it is in my power to grant, I would be honored," Irina said sincerely.

Aro's answering smile was brilliant. "You know how my gift works?" Irina nodded once and Aro stretched out his hand eagerly. "I just want to see them through your memories, if you will allow it."

For the third time that evening Irina heard warning bells in her head. She stubbornly shooed them away, briefly cursing the Cullens for planting the seeds of mistrust in her head. Determinedly, she stepped forward, pressing her hand to Aro's.

_Through Irina's memories Aro soaked up as much as possible. He had missed much since he'd last seen his daughter's family. He saw all of the highlights. An almost 17-year old Alice returning home late one evening with a feral, frightened and fierce looking pair of bedraggled 19 year old twins in tow. The boy, Jasper, clung to Alice's hand like a lifeline. _

_Time passing and every time Irina saw the twins again they had lost some of their defensiveness. Eventually, there was nothing but trust, belonging and love in their eyes and stance. Irina watched his grandchildren, Alice and Emmett, as their love for the twins developed and matured._

_When he had last seen him Emmett had just been made an official member of the guild. He watched through Irina's memory as first Edward, then Alice and finally Jasper and Rosalie were initiated, and each became part of the team. He watched them all strengthen their bond, and become excellent fighters._

_And then, most recently, he watched the beguiling creature that had come into their lives. Bella Swan, the first girl to turn young Edward's head. Irina had noticed in particular because her sister Tanya was rather miffed about the whole thing and if she wasn't mistaken Rosalie Cullen was as well. Tanya had made her play for Edward several years previous and was swiftly, but politely, turned down. _

_Aro watched as Irina overheard a frustrated Edward venting to his brother and sister in the dining hall. Apparently the girl's mind was silent to him. A first, as he heard everyone. Aro was intrigued._

_Through Irina's thoughts Aro was able to attend his granddaughter's wedding. It was a sweet affair, but there was one scene in particular that interested him._

_Irina had noticed that her sister had disappeared and gone looking for her. It was late, or early depending on how you looked at things. The bride and groom had long ago been whisked away via carriage to some romantic location far away from everyone here. Drink and general frivolity meant the party had gone into a full uproar. Irina's ears were ringing slightly as she made her way to the hallway._

_She found her sister almost immediately, tucked as discreetly as possible into an alcove. She was peering around the corner carefully. "Tanya," Irina said to catch her attention._

_Tanya whirled and put her fingers to her lips in a frantic shushing motion. She waved her sister over and pulled her tight against the wall with her before peering back around the corner. Both amused and confused, Irina looked over her sister's shoulder to see what had caught Tanya's interest._

_Swathed only in the flickering light of the torches that lined the hallway, Irina could clearly see two figures. Edward and Bella, she realized immediately. Bella stood with her back to the wall, Edward's arms forming a cage around her as he leaned torward her. They were both swaying somewhat drunkenly, their foreheads occasionally bumping gently._

_Edward pushed himself back slightly, studying his quarry with a deeply furrowed brow. The absolutely perplexed look in his face was comical and Irina had to stifle a laugh. Bella seemed similarly affected as she giggled and began pressing tiny kisses haphazardly at his jaw. "What's a matter, Edward?"_

_"Shh," he said, his face rapt with concentration. "There is something holding your hair up and I'm positive it defies the laws of physics. Be still. I'm SURE I can figure it out." He raised his hands to her hair, not quite touching it. Bella stayed obediently as still as her inebriated state allowed, biting her lower lip and letting out a little titter every now and then as Edward stared at the top of her head intently._

_After a few moments he grinned, triumphant and plucked out a few pins he'd spotted. Bella's long, gorgeous hair spilled down her shoulders, wavy from being pinned up all day and still woven into tight braids in places. _

_The sisters could plainly hear Edward's soft intake of breath. Truly, Bella was stunning in that moment; her hair wild, her face flushed from drink and Edward's attention, and of course, the deep blue gown that Alice had picked for her perfectly set off her smooth, white skin. Even in the dim light the hunger and lust in Edward's eyes was unmistakable. He leaned in, kissing her passionately as his fingers wound into her hair, working at loosening the remaining braids. _

_Tanya's hand closed tightly over her mouth. Though she felt bad, Irina could not look away. There was no awkwardness between the two; no bumped noses or flailing limbs. They moved in tandem, their bodies pressing together, moving together seamlessly. It was one of the most powerful and beautiful things Irina had ever witnessed._

_When they finally broke their kiss both were breathing heavily. Edward murmured something in her ear, his voice low and seductive. Bella's answering smile was immediate and she nodded quickly, kissing him again. Hand in hand, their sides pressed together, they half ran, half stumbled for the stairwell. Their giggles, breathless kisses and soft moans could be heard for a few more moments as they made their way upstairs, presumably to his bedroom._

_Irina finally turned back to her sister. Tanya's eyes were still closed, a single tear having escaped from under her eyelid. "Are you jealous sister?" Irina asked, surprised. _

_Tanya turned to look at her, opening her eyes and quirking an eyebrow. "Of course I'm jealous. That – that love they have, it doesn't exist. Not for the rest of us. I know that. But seeing it – my skin feels like it's on fire just from being in close proximity. Can you feel it?"_

_Irina nodded. Of course she felt it. The couple radiated passion as well as any of Jasper's songs could. And Irina could see Tanya's point. It was impossible not to feel teased and tantalized that such a love could exist in front of them, but be never quite attainable. A perfect blend of completeness of the mind, body and soul – physical, intellectual, spiritual – in Tanya's words, it simply did not exist. No one person could be everything to someone else, and yet somehow they were. _

_One final memory caught Aro's attention. Her most recent memory of Edward Cullen. Irina was readying her horse to take off for her journey to Volterra when her uncle Eleazar and Edward came into the stable. Edward looked irritated. Eleazar looked displeased. "I don't understand why you haven't told her, Edward. If her gift could be expanded, think of the possibilities."_

_The younger man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to calm himself. "That's exactly why I don't want to tell her! I just… I can't explain it Eleazar. It feels so dangerous to have her so involved in all of this," he gestured around him. "I know her. If she can help, she will. She'd be right out there with us and I-" he cut off as if his name had been called. He looked around, spotting Irina and she realized he must have heard her curious thoughts. He sighed. When he spoke again his voice was soft. "I've only just found her. Let me have her – safe – for just a while longer. I promise. I will tell her."_

Aro backed away, his mind working rapidly at assembling pieces of the puzzle. There was much to talk about now, much to consider. There were three new pieces – Jasper, Rosalie and Bella, their gifts and their importance to his daughter's family. He needed to confer with his brothers and his wife especially.

All these thoughts he was careful to keep from his face, instead allowing himself only to reflect wistfulness.

"I thank you Irina Denali. You have no idea what a gift you have given me." His voice betrayed nothing but his sincerity.

As a gift but also as a distraction, having heard the beginnings of Irina's suspicions in her thoughts, Aro gave Irina what she had wanted for a long time. "I do remember your mother. Sasha was an amazingly strong woman – raising three little girls all on her own. She wanted you and your sisters to join with the Volturi. That's what she was doing here all those years ago. Your sister Katrina is quite gifted, I could see that even when she was a toddler," Aro mused.

He put a hand on Irina's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Your mother would have been proud. I know you are happy with the Cullens and I would never think to drive a wedge between your two families, but please know that you and your sisters are welcome here."

Irina struggled to taper down her emotions, glad that Aro had already seen the gratitude she and her sisters held for him, for avenging their mother. "Thank you Aro, that means so much to me."

Once he had exchanged a few more pleasantries with Irina he sent her off with Chelsea, who had by then returned, to join her friends. Aro gestured at his brothers and his wife. Wordlessly, Aro, Caius, Marcus, Jane and her brother Alec retired to an adjoining room.

For the next hour or so Aro proceeded to tell them what he had seen of the Cullens in Irina's thoughts. He talked about Jasper, Rosalie and Bella, filling in as many details before they could escape his faulty, human memories. Vaguely irritated, Aro found himself wishing for the powers of complete retention. Every time he touched someone, their every memory and thought was clear to him, but there was no way he could retain it all and that was maddening to him.

"Carlisle cannot be trusted," Caius grumbled when Aro had finally finished. "If you had kept tighter control of your daughter-,"

"Brother," Aro interrupted sharply. "Carlisle will not raise a hand against us."

Caius scoffed. Pacing away from his brother to where the wine sat. As he poured he continued. "You were always a fool regarding Carlisle. I never understood what you saw in him. What you still see. He is pathetically weak. He could never have handled our life, and the justice we bring." Caius turned again, bringing the glass of blood red wine to eye level and swirling the contents slowly, a contemplative look on his face. "Now Carlisle's guild rivals our own army."

"As you said, he is soft. Weak." Marcus said, his voice flat and emotionless. "Aro is right. He would not think to come up against us."

"Carlisle will not always lead that guild. He grows older by the day." Caius pointed a long finger at Aro. "Your daughter has raised your grandchildren to despise us, or to distrust us at the very least. Just because Carlisle would never have the spine to face us doesn't mean his children would be the same."

"Enough Caius," Aro chided. "They are not a threat now. Still, would that I could speak with them," Aro mused. "Certainly they have mistrust now, but if they could be made to see our side." He sighed heavily and Caius rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics. "We shall just have to hope that the opportunity presents itself," Aro finished as he sat down at his seat.

Across the room Jane and Alec rose from their seats and excused themselves without a word. The brothers, now turned to other matters, did not seem to notice, save Aro who spared Jane a tender kiss to the cheek.

In his position Aro could not afford to be caught scheming. But part of the beauty of his connection to Jane was their similar thought process. Jane knew what he wanted; she just needed to figure a way to obtain it.

"It's obvious, isn't it Jane?" Alec said as they pondered the problem in a private living room somewhere deep within the castle.

Jane grimaced at her irritatingly calm brother. Knowing her temper was a hot flame kept in a box made of match heads, Alec continued quickly. "The girl. Edward's little tart," Alec snickered at his own pun. "From what Aro told of the memories, the Cullens would do anything for their appendages," Alec said distastefully. That kind of dependence and lack of self control was, in his opinion, deplorable. "Bella Swan is a weak link. She is not trained to fight. She is not trained to survive. She can be…obtained easily enough." Alec rolled his eyes. "Edward Cullen will probably be the easiest to manipulate anyway. From what I've heard he has inherited not only a variation of your husband's gift, but his flair for dramatics as well."

Now Jane rolled her eyes. "Not to mention the arrogance," she muttered distractedly, "Entirely undeserved in his case." The one time she had met the brat, years ago when he was no more than a child of 16, it had taken all of her very limited patience not to use her gift on the insufferable bastard. The way he had scowled at the lot of them as if they were the scum of the earth; his all knowing attitude as he responded to the snide comments that had been running through her head. Jane roiled at the memory. She grinned at the fantasy in her head: Edward Cullen writhing on the ground under her stare, screaming in agony.

The more she thought about it, the more Jane liked the idea of going after Edward's Bella. If Aro was correct about their bond, losing her would cause Edward a very different kind of agony. And he would come for her.

A plan began to formulate in Jane's head and she turned to her brother eagerly. Hours later and the plan had been hashed out in detail. They would wait a few weeks to put their plan in motion, disconnecting anyone in Volterra from any association to the coming events. By then Irina would be back in Forkshire.

From what Aro had gathered James and his girl would be the perfect ones to carry out Jane and Alec's plan. Gods only knew where they would be in a few weeks time but that was no matter. They could be summoned with Demitri's assistance easily enough. Demitri's tracking ability was far greater and more powerful than what Aro had seen in James' thoughts about his own abilities. Jane mused that it was a shame she could not send her son on this errand. At least then she could be assured it would be done right.

But then, Aro had said that James was absolutely lethal. No, he would not falter in her plan. In fact, the only thing she had to worry about was the potential he would hurt or kill the girl before she could be delivered to Volterra.

But then, Jane thought, recalling again the imagined pain in Edward Cullen's eyes, either way, would that really be a bad thing?

**Thanks to Ali for her editing help. ****J**** Also check my profile for the fantabulous banner my brother made me! It was pretty nice of him considering how much he hates staring at Rob's face. Hehe. Edward and Bella are next and much sexing is to be had. **


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 4 – Calm Before the Storm**

**A/N: This right here is fluff with a side of fluffernut sauce, marshmallows and perhaps a very tiny, furry kitten. I figured the kids deserved a break before I throw their lives into absolute chaos, so enjoy it. They did, and I sure as heck enjoyed writing it.**

**Oh, also – ahead there be lemons. You've been warned. **

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

Midwinter

Bella was almost sure she was still dreaming when she felt the blankets rustle. The bed, behind her, dipped and she grew more confused, trying to drag herself awake.

"Shh, Bella," came a velvety whisper as a firm body pressed against her back. "Go back to sleep, love. It's early yet." He put an arm around her waist and buried his face against the top of her head. He inhaled deeply, taking in the floral scent of her mixed with the smells from the bakery – rising bread, sugar, flour. Delicious. Wonderful. Home.

"Edward?" she asked, her voice light as a whisper. She was still mostly asleep.

He kissed the top of her head tenderly. "I'm here."

For a minute Bella rested contently against him, snuggling back to get as close as possible. The sound and feel of his breath across her scalp was comforting. It was hardly a minute or two before his breathing evened out and he was asleep. The soft, rhythmic puffs lulled Bella back towards her dreams, but there was something that kept her from falling completely. It was a thought tickling the back of her mind, almost bubbling to the surface. If she was all the way awake it would be driving her mad, the way it hung elusively on the edge of her consciousness.

Then, all at once, she remembered and her eyes snapped open. Edward had been gone – out on assignment for nearly three weeks. It was the longest they had been separated since Bella had come to live in Forkshire. Though, in the grand scheme of things, three weeks was hardly any time at all, it had felt more like years than days. It was easily the loneliest she'd ever been. Every day she had ached for him – his touch, his voice, his constant presence. She'd had no idea that the pain of having him far away from her could hurt so physically. She hadn't known what to do to soothe the misery that had encroached on her more and more as days passed. So she simply waited.

And now he was here, wrapped around her and sleeping as if she'd only dreamed his absence. She should have known it from the moment she stirred. The ache that had plagued her was completely gone; soothed to the point she questioned if it had existed at all.

Carefully, Bella twisted in his arms so she was facing him. He was right, it was early. The daylight that filtered in through her windows was washed out; only barely illuminating his skin in soft gray and blue hues. She looked over his face carefully, recalling the ever nagging worry that had threatened to consume her on a daily basis. What if he was hurt? What if he was killed? She could barely think the words without shuddering.

His face, as always, was perfect. His breath came out in even puffs as he slept, his full lips slightly pouting. Bella couldn't help but run the tips of her fingers over his lips. He was clean shaven. His cheeks were slightly raw from being outdoors in the middle of winter, but other than that she could find nothing marring the fine features of his face.

Bella ran her fingers through his hair, realizing with some surprise that it was damp. It had grown out completely from when he had cut it for Alice's wedding. She pushed the damp strands off his neck so she could examine the skin there; still seeing with her own eyes that he was whole. As she did he let out a soft moan in his sleep and his arm around her waist tightened.

Continuing her inventory, Bella carefully pulled the blankets down to look at the rest of his body. Her eyes were drawn to a number of deep scratches on his upper arm, but she was distracted when Edward shivered in his sleep. Bella frowned and brought her hand up to stroke the skin of his arm, careful not to irritate the healing wounds. Edward's skin was icy to the touch.

Quickly, Bella pulled the blankets back up around his shoulders. Wet hair, chilled skin and a smooth face; Bella could put together the sequence of events easily in her head. It amused her almost as much as it annoyed her. She glanced around the room and saw his thick winter cloak draped over the chair in the corner. For his skin to still be so chilled, despite the cloak and despite the blanket he was currently under, he had most likely taken a bath in lukewarm or even cold water. He was clean shaven despite having been away for weeks, so she knew he had bathed. He always did when he was away for longer than a day. But he must not have been patient enough to wait for the water to warm and he'd come straight to her home afterwards.

He should, in Bella's opinion, be more careful with his health, but she couldn't exactly blame him. She knew well enough she would have done the same thing. It had really been too long of a separation.

A renewed rush went through Bella, waking her completely. Suddenly her whole body was alive. His presence in her bed was an unprecedented event. They stole nights together when they had a reasonable excuse: Charles' fishing trips or Alice's wedding for example, but they'd never spent much time in her room, let alone her bed. There was always her father to consider.

Charles' reaction to news of Edward's courtship of Bella had been interesting to say the least. To Bella he was grudgingly supportive. Edward came from a good family and was a boon to the town. Any father should be happy to have him knocking at the door. On the surface, the conversation he'd had with Edward that night was friendly, but Edward hadn't needed his mind reading abilities to read between the lines. Charles' message was loud and clear. "If the blunt end of your short sword gets anywhere near my daughter, you're a dead man."

Of course, by that time, Edward and Bella had already lain together, but that was not something they chose to share with her father. Still, being in her bed was a risk he had ever taken.

Deciding she didn't really care at that particular moment, Bella brought her hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks and using her thumbs to stroke over his eyelids with the faintest of touches. He stirred slightly, nestling closer the warmth of her skin. Bella started to press open mouthed kisses along his jaw line, puffing out slow, long breaths to warm him with her mouth.

She slid one hand down to his muscular shoulders, slipping it beneath the simple cotton shirt he wore so she could touch his skin. Her lips moved down to his neck. As she kissed him she inhaled his comforting scent. She smelled the soap first, like a mist over his usual musky, slightly sandalwood aroma. It was an intoxicating, fueling the swell of desire that washed over her. She'd never experienced anything like it anywhere else.

As she ran her nose along his neck, Edward's small moans of pleasure began to get slightly more alert. His heavy eyelids finally opened when she dropped the hand that had been lightly rubbing the warmth back into his collarbone and shoulders down to his waist. Her hand began making slow, soothing circles on his side, under his shirt.

"Bella," he mumbled as her hand continued its journey up his side, her fingertips beginning to graze the plains of his chest. "I'm sleeping," he protested, but he did nothing to stop her movements. In fact, the hand he had around her waist moved to the small of her back, pressing her even closer to him.

Bella kissed back up his jaw to his lips. "You're freezing. I'm just warming you up," she whispered against him.

"Oh," he whispered, kissing her back lazily, "Please continue. I am cold."

They were silent for many minutes save for the sound their lips moving against each other and the occasional squeak as the bed shifted beneath them.

Edward's kisses became slower until they stopped all together. Just as he was about to drift off again he felt Bella's hands beginning to tug at the ties of his cotton pants. His bleary eyes opened again as he groaned, half with pleasure, half with frustration. "I've been out storming castles. I'm exhausted Bella," he warned half heartedly. Honestly he'd rather collapse from exhaustion than have her stop. He reveled in her touch.

But he was truly very, very tired. His duties had finally been done at midday the day before. A glance at the maps of the area had shown he was half a day's ride from Forkshire. Rather than come back with the rest of his guild mates, Edward had ridden through the afternoon and most of the evening to get back to Forkshire and Bella.

Bella had begun a circuit, kissing his lips, up his cheek, the tip of his nose and back down again. Her fingers had dipped under the waistband of his pants, innocently rubbing the skin along his waist and the outside of his upper leg. "You know," she began. Even in his drowsy state Edward did not miss the mischief in her voice. "Sir Crowley has offered the warmth of his bed while you're away. He says he will be more than happy to fulfill your duties."

Edward's eyes snapped all the way open. His first thought was that he and Tyler Crowley were going to have a conversation that involved more fists than words. His second thought revolved around the victorious smirk that lit up Bella's face as she snickered at him.

With a growl of defeat Edward clutched his hand possessively in the fabric of her chemise. "You'll be the death of me, Bella. I swear you will." He kissed her almost roughly. "What does Tyler Crowley know of my _duties_?" he murmured against her ear.

Still breathless from his kiss, Bella scoffed. "No one but my father thinks us a chaste couple." She continued to kiss him, one hand around the back of his neck, and the other beginning to work slowly towards his inner thigh. "And speaking of my father, you know he'll kill you if he finds you here."

Edward smirked. "Actually, I'm here at your father's invitation."

Now it was Bella's turn to smirk. "You expect me to believe that?"

"What?" Edward feigned a hurt expression. "It's true. The knights, including your dear Sir Crowley," he growled the name through his teeth, "Were called away on the King's business. There's a note for you on the table. Your father was riding out as I was riding in. He was worried about you being left alone as he travelled." Edward grinned triumphantly and said the next words in a low, seductive tone right at her ear. "He requested I check in on you."

His breath in her ear sent a thrill straight down Bella's spine. She found it difficult to speak coherently as he took her earlobe in his mouth, licking gently along the edge of her ear. "Somehow… I doubt this is what he meant."

His hand had begun tugging her chemise up her side, his long fingers brushing against her cloth covered stomach. "Then he should have been clearer, shouldn't he have?"

He wrapped his arms around her as he rolled onto his back, bringing her to lie on top of him. "How do you sleep in this?" he questioned, tugging at the linen cloth bunched in his hand. "It doesn't seem very comfortable."

"Not all of us can afford silk nightgowns."

"Hmm, I'll buy you one … or 10," his voice matched the sensuous movements of his hands at her waist, slowly pulling the itchy material up her legs. "But until then it seems like it would be much more comfortable for you to wear nothing at all."

Bella rolled her eyes, sitting up and straddling him. "In the name of comfort," she said, playing along. She pulled the chemise over her head and threw it to the side of the bed. Bella felt a familiar warmth rise to her cheeks as he stared at her. It didn't matter how many times he had seen her naked body, she never got used to the look in Edward's eyes. They said, _you are exquisite, you are made for me, you are perfect and you are mine_.

He didn't say these things out loud. He didn't need to. Instead he only whispered, "I missed you," as he tugged lightly on her hair. Following his silent direction, Bella lay against him again. Her hard nipples brushed against the soft cotton that clothed his chest. She caressed his face lovingly, kissing him again and again as his hands worked to remove her remaining undergarment.

Once she was free of any clothing, Edward began teasing and exploring every inch of skin with his fingers while their mouths moved together in synchronization. They'd given up words, surrendering themselves to the lover's language. A whimper from Bella as he ran the pads of his fingers over the sensitive skin from the back of her knee all the way up to her ass. A guttural moan from Edward when she sucked his lower lip into her mouth, biting softly, and bucked her hips against him.

Edward shifted them again bringing them back to their sides. With Bella's help he made short work of his clothing.

Skin to skin, face to face, Edward tilted Bella's chin upwards, stroking her neck as he brought his lips back to hers. As he kissed her he moved his hand over her shoulders, down her back, across her waist and down her thigh. He hitched her leg up at the knee to straddle his side, leaving her open to him. Even as he teased the outside of her folds he could feel that she was ready for him. When he slid inside her they both moaned at the feeling. Tight. Amazing. Home.

Their lovemaking was unhurried, even lazy. The arms they lay on were stretched above their heads, hands entwined. Their free hands explored each other's bodies; reacquainting and rememorizing.

When Edward dipped his head to press his lips across the top of her breasts, Bella threaded her free hand through his hair. He licked and gently nipped her skin from the apex of her breasts, up to follow the line of her collarbone. He enjoyed the symphony of provocative whimpers and moans his tongue and his touch elicited as he moved inside her. The steady tempo of their hips, moving together, began to increase.

Bella's free hand traced his hairline around his ear, down to the back of his neck. She stroked the skin there, tugging at the long wisps of hair when his tongue hit a particularly titillating spot. Trailing her hand down his back, marveling at the muscles that rippled underneath her hand, Bella pulled herself as close as possible to him. She ran the leg that was hitched around his waist as far up his torso as she could, taking him deeper inside her, tangling their legs together as if she could absorb him completely. Bella didn't think it was possible to sate this need she had for him, even if they were one body fused together.

The feeling, the need to possess seemed to flow from Bella to Edward. His body had forgotten the weariness and the ache of long days in the saddle and on the battlefield. He shifted them suddenly so she was on her back on the bed and he was kneeling between her legs. She moved automatically, instinctively, bringing her legs up, bent at the knee so her knees slid against his upper back, under his arms. "Bella," Edward moaned her name. Their previous position had been shallow, but intimate. This new position was possessive and oh, so, very sweet and deep.

As he began thrusting into her she lifted her hips to meet him. Her wordless moans became vocal, his name falling from her lips as each stroke caused the most pleasurable sensations to travel from her very core up her spine.

Her hands, previously splayed over his firm chest, travelled down his body to where they were connected. They both groaned at the feel of her hands circling him as he pumped into her, again and again.

Bella moved one hand up to her breasts and the other to stroke her clitoris. Edward was very nearly undone by the mere site of her pleasuring herself even as their hips met. "You have no idea what you do to me," he said between thrusts, following her cries of harder and faster. Bella was beyond words. She threw her head back on the pillow, screaming his name as she came. The sight and the sound of her ecstasy drove him into his own orgasm only seconds later.

It took all of Edward's remaining energy not to simply collapse on top of her. Instead, he pressed himself slowly against her, laying his head on her breasts as they both waited to catch their breaths. Bella let out a shaky laugh as she stroked his hair, remembering that when this morning began his skin had been cold and his hair damp. Now his hair was damp with sweat and heat radiated from his slick, sticky body.

After a few minutes Edward lifted his head to look at her. The light of the morning was now filling the room, making her look impossibly more radiant in her post coital glow. She was smiling at him; the beautiful smile he'd thought about every day and night he was away. He opened his mouth, some eloquent endearment on his tongue and…

He yawned.

Bella giggled, stroking his cheeks lovingly as he looked back at her with a sleepy, sheepish expression. He rolled off her, lying on his side facing her. "Welcome home," she said, rolling onto her side and brushing his nose with hers in a butterfly kiss. Grinning lopsidedly, Edward put his arms around her. With a contented sigh he closed his eyes and finally slept.

It was several hours later when Edward opened his eyes again. A quick glance outside showed the sun was high in the sky. Six hours of sleep then, perhaps a little more. He was still tired although not nearly as much of course. He wondered vaguely what had awakened him. Then he heard the softest moan from the woman he held tightly in his arms.

"Edward," she mumbled with a soft whimper, as if she were pleading. On the pillow, in the small space between them her hand was resting, palm up; her fingers flexing as if waiting for something. Curious, Edward put his hand in hers. Her fingers tightened reflexively around his.

Keeping their hands clasped, Edward scooted closer to her. He nuzzled her shoulder with his nose, breathing in her scent – the familiar flowers, sugar and rising bread mixed with sweat and sex. It was not often he could wake up to her like this.

Here, sleeping peacefully with her cheek resting on the hand that wasn't curled around his, she looked much younger than her 18 years. She looked innocent and fragile; something to be protected. And yet….

Letting go of her hand, Edward brought the blankets that were wrapped around them up over their heads. The midwinter air was chilly and he wanted to look at her – at all of her.

He ran his hand over her shoulder, sweeping the long locks of her beautiful, mahogany hair off her skin. He ghosted his fingers across her collarbones, the graceful arch of her neck, and down to where the tops of her breasts peaked out from underneath her arms. She mumbled something in her sleep and shifted onto her back, one hand falling limply above her head.

The sight of her literally took his breath away. The innocence of her expression in sleep with the provocative and sensual curves of her body awakened an array of emotions. Lust of course – he didn't know whether he could ever get enough of her body. Being with her was the greatest pleasure he had known. Pride and awe – that this amazing, beautiful woman was his - heart, body and soul. He didn't understand it, and didn't know what he'd done to deserve it, but he thanked every available god for the gift. And of course, love and adoration - as much as she was his, so would he always be hers. She owned him, completely and irrevocably.

Edward let his hands roam her body as he tried not to let these feelings overwhelm him. As exhilarating as it was to love her, it was also terrifying. She was his life – as essential to him as the air he breathed.

Logically, he knew that every life hung by a gossamer thread. It didn't take much to kill a living being. In years of battles he had both killed and seen friends die. Yet he felt more anxious about Bella's life than he had about anything else.

Of course, he knew why. Despite everything, Alice's old vision – Bella bound and kneeling at his grandfather's feet – had never dissipated. He'd seen it over and over again in Alice's mind.

Aro and his little legion of followers had always loomed like specters on Edward's horizon. He'd known since he was small that his mother feared her father, feared most of all that he would find a way to take her children. Edward had never been scared. In his childhood he had trusted completely in his father's ability to protect him. As he grew into manhood he had had no doubt he could take care of himself. He'd been arrogant about it actually – encouraging his mother to go to her aunt's funeral when he was 16 just so he could finally get a glimpse into his grandfather's mind.

Though, at the time, it had merely made him angry, Aro's mindset was unnerving at the very least. Even in the short time his family was in Volterra, Aro was constantly scheming. His mind had a greedy edge to it, not unlike a five year old child hording his toys. He was almost irritated that Carlisle had his own small following, and talented children that Aro could not possess.

But what made Aro even more dangerous was just how brilliant his mind was. When he had figured out Edward's gift, his mind had shut down almost immediately. Edward's family and friends had learned how to control their thoughts somewhat around him, but not to the extent that Aro did. One minute Aro's plans to bring his grandchildren into his fold had been forefront in his mind, the next Edward could only hear his sincere happiness at seeing his daughter again and sadness over his sister's passing.

Now, as an adult who recognized when his own arrogance could blind him, Edward was well aware of what a threat Aro posed. He still had no fear for himself, knowing that if anyone came after him directly he would be fine. But Bella was defenseless.

Bella's voice murmuring his name broke through his frustrating thoughts and Edward allowed himself to be distracted by the slowly waking woman in his arms. He propped himself up on one elbow, hovering over her as he kissed her awake.

"Good morning," he said between kisses.

Without opening her eyes Bella sighed. "Is it still morning?"

Edward chuckled and kissed her again. "I'm sure it's morning somewhere."

Her deep brown eyes fluttered open as she returned his kisses. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Obediently, Edward carefully put all his weight on her, the feeling of his naked body pressed against every line of hers feeling good and right. She brought her legs up, wrapping them around his waist and using them to pull him even closer. He groaned against her mouth.

Needing to breathe, Edward broke their kiss, leaning his forehead against hers. Their eyes met, filled with a heavy ardor. "You were dreaming of me," he said, his voice husky.

She pressed a kiss against the tip of his nose. "I always dream of you."

"Tell me what you were dreaming," he requested.

Before she could speak his stomach rumbled.

Loudly.

Chuckling as she kissed his nose again, Bella let her legs drop back down to the bed. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast, and then we can talk about making my dreams come true."

Edward growled, burying his face against the crook of her neck. "There are other ways to satisfy my hunger that have nothing to do with food," he said, licking and nipping at the skin there.

Bella sighed and shuddered with pleasure beneath him. She cupped his cheeks in her hands, lifting his face back up to hers. "There is time for that, later. Let me feed you first. Please." She kissed him before he could protest; a too convincing kiss. She had learned this persuasive technique from him.

With a sigh, Edward lifted his head and relented. He was, in all honesty, very hungry. Reluctantly he rolled off her, his eyes searching for the cotton pants and shirt he'd discarded so hastily the night before.

Once they were both dressed enough against the cold day, they made their way, hand in hand, to Bella's small kitchen.

As she worked at assembling their breakfast, Edward told her of his most recent adventures. Goblins. He hated goblins with a passion. They were tricky little beasts, hence why it had taken the Cullens several weeks to deal with them. But in the end the uprising was quelled and Edward assured her that no one was worse for the wear, save for the gouges on his arm and a few other minor injuries the company had suffered along the way.

"Are you not going to open the bakery today?" Edward asked a little later as he devoured one of her day old and yet still delicious apple crumble muffins.

Bella shook her head. "I'm sure Angela has opened by now. She'll be fine for today at least."

"At least," Edward echoed, leaning forward to steal another kiss.

"What about you, won't your family want to see you?" Bella asked.

"I saw my mother when I came in last night. She doesn't sleep very well when my father is away," he explained. "I don't have to be back there until tomorrow. Emmett and I are going to be taking the new recruits through training exercises."

Bella's eyebrows shot up somewhat comically. "You mean I have you to myself for the day?"

Flashing her a lopsided grin, Edward nodded. "And all night."

Heat rushed to Bella's cheeks and she looked down, her hands restlessly picking pieces of crumbled brown sugar off her own muffin.

After a moment Edward put two fingers under her chin, gently coaxing her head up so he could look at her. "What are you thinking?"

Again Bella blushed and then she grinned. "I was thinking I could tell you about my dream."

The words only barely left her mouth before Edward had swept her up in his arms. He moved so fast his chair fell to the ground. Bella gasped and then laughed as he nearly ran down the hallway and back to her room. "You are so egotistical," she teased him as he laid her down on the bed. "What if I was dreaming about a nice neck massage?"

Edward quirked an eyebrow at her. "You want a neck massage?" He pulled her into a sitting position. He sat behind her, his legs around hers as he loosened the tie on the robe she wore. The top of the robe sagged down off her shoulders, exposing her back and breasts. "Hmmm," he said as ran his thumbs in circles over the back of her neck, "I like the view." He pressed a quick kiss against her temple and set to work.

Bella moaned as his long, strong fingers pressed and pulled the skin of her neck and shoulders. She hadn't been serious about the massage of course, but she'd be damned if she was going to stop him now. This was pure bliss.

Eventually, Edward let his hands begin to creep down her bare back, kneading her flesh and muscle as he went. When he reached her mid-back he started to kiss down her cheek and neck. Then his hands moved from her back altogether, reaching around her to trace the bottom of her breasts instead. Bella gasped, leaning back against him fully.

"This is closer to what I dream about," Bella whispered with a sigh. Edward's only response was to find her lips with his. He kissed her deeply as his hands continued to caress her breasts, squeezing her nipples lightly; teasingly.

For the rest of the day they rarely left the bed. They talked and laughed and kissed. And whenever they wanted each other again they would let their words fade into guttural moans, sighs and the steady rhythm of their flesh slapping together. They spoke each other's names with reverence against heated skin and between kisses. They cried each other's names at the peak of rapture; the sound stretching like screams pulled from the very core of their beings.

They woke the next morning when the sun was strong in the sky. Well past dawn but not close to midday yet. For a long time neither spoke. They just lay nose to nose together, enjoying the last little bit of time they had before they were forced to remember there was a world outside that house and more people in it than the two of them.

Edward sat up and sat back against the headboard, draping a blanket around his shoulders. When he was settled he reached out and pulled Bella onto his lap, wrapping the blanket around her like a cocoon. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Edward ran his hands up and down her back, pressing the occasional kiss to the top of her head.

They sat like that for an immeasurable length of time but it was still too soon when Bella sighed. "You have somewhere to be. We both do."

"Emmett can handle a few new recruits on his own."

"You should be there. Emmett is going to kill you." She laughed softly at his frown, tracing a finger along his pouty lower lip.

Edward grumbled. "If by kill me you mean Emmett is going to try to embarrass me to death, you might be right. I'm sure he'll make it quite clear why I'm late this morning."

"Which is why you should go," Bella concluded, lifting her head off his chest so she could look him in the eye.

Edward's eyes softened as he looked back at her. Her hair was an absolute mess from where has hands had been in it all day and night. "I think I can handle it," he said with a grin. "I'm sure that the recruits have seen you. They'll all be jealous. Emmett's plan will backfire. And they'll know you're mine. Perfect, you see? It takes care of two birds with one stone."

Bella gave a small groan and blushed. She stared at him contemplatively for a few moments and then grinned at him mischievously.

"Bella?" Edward asked warily, his eyes narrowing. That look could mean nothing but trouble for him.

Of course, Bella didn't answer. Instead she brushed the hair away from his neck and leaned in, placing her mouth, lips parted, against his skin. Edward was surprised when she did not move from that spot and instead began to suck greedily, her teeth sinking into his skin just slightly, skirting the edge of pleasure and pain. He gasped at the feeling, and the way her fingers grasped his hair, tugging him closer. His fingers dug into her hips where his hands were wrapped around her waist.

Bella's lips made a wet smacking sound against his neck as she released him from her mouth. She leaned back to inspect her work with a satisfied smirk.

Edward gaped at her. "What was that?"

"One of the new recruits is female," she said innocently. "Amber, I think her name is. I've seen the way she looks at you. I'm just marking my territory. And Emmett might have some jokes for you. Two birds, one stone."

He sat there with a shocked look on his face for a few more seconds before he burst out laughing. He cupped her face in his hands so he could look into her eyes. "I am yours," he assured her, and kissed her one last time before they faced the day.

An hour later they were clean and dressed. Bella ignored her horse and rode with Edward to the guildhall. It gave her a few more minutes in his arms. Her bakery was only a short walk away, after all.

As they rode, Bella noticed that Edward was nervously pulling at his hair, bringing it forward. It took her a moment to figure out that he was trying to hide the mark on his neck. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. Emmett would never let him hear the end of it if he saw it. She almost felt bad.

Almost.

Emmett and five recruits were clearly visible in the yard. When he saw them, Emmett gestured at the recruits and they all jogged over to the low wall that surrounded the guild property.

"Edward, you live!" He called out in greeting. "I was just gathering these fine fighters to stage a rescue mission. However did you escape this evil succubus?" He pretended to scowl menacingly at Bella.

Edward rolled his eyes at his brother's antics as he dismounted. He ignored Emmett in favor of helping Bella off the horse. "Do I want to know what a succubus is?" she asked as he set her down on the low wall.

He grinned, leaning close to her. "It's a beautiful, evil enchantress who seduces helpless men. Legends say they drain men of their essence for demonic purposes." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Before Bella could argue, Emmett poked a finger at her. "I presume you intend to make an honest man of my poor, innocent little brother."

"Emmett!" Edward warned between gritted teeth.

"It's fine Edward," Bella said smoothly though she was blushing furiously. "He only has his experience with Rosalie to draw on. He couldn't have known what it's like not to be with a commanding harpy." She pretended to smile sadly at Emmett and patted his head condescendingly.

The gathered troops chortled at the wide eyed look on Emmett's face. After a moment of shock Emmett threw his head back and laughed a deep booming sound that echoed around the courtyard. "Ah, little sister, I don't know what my brother did to deserve you," he said, pulling Bella into a bear hug.

"Surely it's fate's consolation for having you as a brother," Edward grumbled, rescuing Bella from Emmett's arms after a few moments.

"Bah," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. "You'd think he'd be in a better mood after yesterday. What were you two doing? Discussing the differences between gnomes and dwarves?"

"Emmett," Edward warned again.

Ignoring his brother, Emmett turned to Bella. "It's the beards you see. Dwarves love their beards. Even the females." He appeared to reflect a moment and then turned to Edward. "Is it because she doesn't have a beard? That's not her fault, you know." _Though dwarves ARE just the right height, aren't they? _Emmett added with a mental guffaw.

Edward sighed, knowing that Emmett was likely to continue if he gave him any sort of response. He turned to Bella and squeezed her hands briefly before turning back to the five recruits that had been watching. "Is there a particular reason you five aren't sparring?"

To their credit the gathered group was silent – at least verbally. In their heads Edward watched them play back Emmett's gleeful order to drop what they were doing and come watch the show.

Crossing his arms, Edward addressed the recruits again. "Well, let this be your first lesson. Remember that you should only follow the orders of the one in charge. My father and Eleazar both know better than to put this ogre in charge of anything but his own sword."

As Edward was talking, he picked up on his brother's surprised thoughts. In Emmett's head he saw himself– and a HUGE spider that appeared to be crawling down the side of his head. Reflexively, Edward rushed to knock the spider out of his hair, running his fingers through the long strands, trying to find the thing.

It wasn't until he heard Emmett's loud laugh that he realized what had happened. There was never any spider. Emmett was just trying to get him to move his hair out of the way so he could see the bruise Bella had left on his neck.

Almost immediately, one of the recruits – Peter - snapped to attention, turning towards Bella sharply. "Your orders, Mam?"

"What?" Bella asked, taken aback.

"He said we should only take orders from the person in charge," Peter explained patiently. "If it isn't Emmett, it has to be you."

By that time Emmett was nearly doubled over, he was laughing so hard. Edward rolled his eyes at the back of Peter's head.

Eventually all the good natured ribbing was over, Bella had escaped to her bakery and the sparring was going well enough. At some point after midday Jasper came out to watch the recruits. His thoughts, as usual, were tranquil. He watched the recruits with an analytical, practiced eye, finding a few potential weaknesses that Edward and Emmett might not have otherwise seen easily.

Edward heard his amusement when his observant eyes caught the mark on his neck. He groaned. "It's not that I don't deserve it, but I've had just about as much badgering about it as I can take," he said dryly.

Jasper chuckled. _Passion's pockmark_, he mused silently. _She stained your skin as she's tinted your soul, _he surmised with his usual flare for poetry_. _He pulled down the corner of the loose-fitting shirt he wore, exposing a similar mark on his shoulder. Thankfully, he spared Edward the visual of how it got there. A knowing look passed between the friends and brothers. Neither was exactly ashamed at wearing their mate's mark.

"I need a favor, Jasper," Edward said after a few moments of easy silence.

Jasper stayed quiet, merely quirking an eyebrow and waiting for him to continue.

"I would appreciate it if you could start teaching Bella some self defense moves," Edward said. He heard Jasper's immediate question and answered before he could voice it. "I just don't know that I could push her as hard as she really needs – to learn, you know?"

Jasper's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you want her to know more than just the basics? Are you asking me to teach Bella how to fight, Edward?"

Edward didn't answer right away. He looked over at the fighters, trying to imagine Bella there and cringing. He closed his eyes against the image. "With what Alice sees coming, sooner or later, she deserves every chance to fight back," he said more to himself than to Jasper.

"That's not all, is it?" Jasper asked quietly, as usual reading much more than Edward wanted him to see.

Edward sighed again. "No, that's not all, but it's a start." He opened his eyes and looked at Jasper. "Eleazar believes Bella is very magically talented. He thinks that the reason I can't hear her has something to do with that – he can't read her either."

"You haven't told her this," Jasper stated. It wasn't a question.

Hearing Jasper's silent rebuke, Edward nodded. "I know. I will tell her. But this first. I don't want her to get distracted. So many magic users don't bother learning how to defend themselves from physical attacks."

At this Jasper snorted. "I can't argue with you there." He sighed. "Of course I'll help her, Edward. Just…try not to kill me if I have to throw her to the ground a few times, all right?"

This broke the tension that had settled over Edward and he let out a strangled laugh. He was amused that Jasper thought he would attack him for doing what he had asked him to do. But he had to admit that the image Jasper provoked was vaguely horrifying. He felt his hackles rise at the mere thought of his brother attacking Bella.

Finally, Edward just smiled Jasper. "I'll try not to overreact," he promised.

**I'd like to take this moment to talk to you all about safe sex. Just because I didn't mention it, doesn't mean that Edward and Bella are being irresponsible. Let's just assume one of the witches whipped them up a birth control elixir, since condoms don't exist in my world of Paciwest. However, they DO exist on our world of Earth, so use em! Or the pill. Or both – double bag that shit.**


	5. Why?

**Chapter 5 – Why**

**A/N: If you need a visual for the weapons I'm using, check my profile. The next two chapters are EASILY the most fantasy oriented of the entire story. Sorry if you're not into that type of thing. It's pretty light as far as fantasy goes. No dragons or anything. ;)**

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

Early Spring

The life Laurent had chosen was not the safest. Not living within any city certainly had its disadvantages. The space between towns was not governed or specifically protected by any group. There was no such thing as law and order outside of city walls, and all kinds of predators lurked – humanoid, animal or otherwise- waiting for their next victim. People or groups might appeal to guilds for assistance or justice, but there were never any guarantees.

He had had no marketable skill, save for his fighting abilities. He supposed his manner was genteel enough to work in some shop, but he did not find the thought appealing. He found that it was easier, and a great deal more interesting, to make money offering to venture out into the dangerous unknown on behalf of the folks who would rather keep to the safety of their cities and towns.

At first, his quests were a matter of fetching more than anything else. Collect a rare plant for a potion master who did not want to brave the wild mountains to retrieve it himself – that kind of thing.

He'd met James and Victoria nearly a decade before. Following them had given Laurent several advantages. Regardless of his fighting skills, it was always safer to travel with companions. In addition to this, James' had the uncanny gift to track or hunt his quarry, knowing instinctually at least the vague direction they'd gone in. It made him an excellent bounty hunter – a job that was much more profitable than a flower picker. Combine this with Victoria's gift that allowed her to sense, and therefore avoid, danger, and the three were a fairly lethal force.

However, with his gift James had to be ready to move at a moment's notice. He expected Victoria and Laurent to respond to his orders without question. Since it was often essential to their survival, as well as keeping up the steady influx of coins to their purse, Laurent had never argued with or thought twice about James' orders, no matter how bizarre.

Until now.

A week earlier they had been approached by two members of the Volturi guard – the same two guards that had dragged the little elf Bree to her certain death. Felix and Demetri, he recalled their names. It had been quite a shock to see them seeing as they were about 3 days ride away from Volterra on a job at the time. The members of the guard rarely left Volterra's boundaries. When they did, it was typically not a good thing for their quarry.

Demetri had explained that the Lady Jane had requested James' presence. The trio had been uncertain, to say the least, but what choice did they have? Demetri had obviously tracked them to the middle of nowhere. Since Victoria had sensed no danger, they had returned to Volterra without fuss.

After his meeting with Lady Jane, James' had made them leave the city almost immediately. Since then he had said nothing. He changed their course frequently, but after a week of travel Laurent couldn't help but pick up on the general direction they were travelling in. No mater which way James' turned them, they always seemed to be heading toward Forkshire.

Though he had tried, Laurent had been unable to keep Irina Denali out of his thoughts. They wrote when they could, Irina's letters following him from town to town when he knew where he was going; which, with James, wasn't frequently. The thought of seeing her again made him smile before he could help himself.

Since meeting Irina, Laurent had found himself becoming restless with his nomadic lifestyle. He and Irina had spoken about it extensively during their time together. They were very similar people. Neither liked staying in one place for long. Neither committed themselves to one person. They were both very adventurous.

Why, then, had Irina tied herself to a guild?

Irina had spoken in depth about the novelty of having a steady home. Carlisle, as a guild leader, was far from a dictator. Understanding Irina's itch to be constantly on the go, he gave her more assignments than the average guild member. She was able to travel the countryside frequently, use her skills for good _and_ profit, and still return home to family and friends. Not to mention how nice it was to have a comfortable bed and bathing facilities on hand whenever she wanted.

Laurent had to admit it sounded ideal. The conversation had put the thought in his mind and since then he had found himself growing more and more irritated with James and his cryptic orders.

They set up camp that evening in the forest outside a little town. Once Victoria had gone into town in search of their dinner, Laurent gave up his more subtle prying. "Are we going to be near Forkshire soon, James?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

The other man's head snapped up from where he had been digging through his pack. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

Laurent tried to hide his grimace but was unsuccessful. Before he could articulate a response James had knocked him to the ground and stood towering over him. "Laurent, if you're trying to pull something on me…" he broke off, not needing to complete his threat.

"Don't be ridiculous," Laurent said angrily. He got to his feet, confused and irritated now. James was prone to bursts of temper, but this? "Irina is in Forkshire."

James' defensive posture sagged almost instantly as his widened in surprise. The two men stood facing each other for a long, tense moment. Then, James laughed. "Your whores don't usually stay on your mind this long."

Though he bristled at the word whores, Laurent did not protest. He knew it would only cause James to use it, or even more derogatory terms, again. Instead he shrugged. "The woman possesses exemplary skills in the bedroom, as you know," he said dismissively and quickly averted his eyes.

When James didn't move, Laurent chanced another glance at him. He looked thoughtful. "The Cullens, right?" James said absently.

Laurent furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"She's a member of a guild. The Cullens."

"What does that matter?" Laurent was confused again. James was acting strange, even for him.

James shrugged and plopped himself down on his bedroll without another word. He reclined, hands behind his head, and closed his eyes – the very picture of unconcern.

It didn't escape Laurent's notice that James hadn't answered. Swallowing his annoyance, he decided to drop the subject for the time being. Anyway, Victoria came back from town not that long later, and his growling stomach distracted him from his thoughts.

When morning broke the next morning, Laurent woke with the distinct impression that something was amiss. He sat up, blinking his eyes against the light of day. He looked around and found that he was alone. Both Victoria and James' bedrolls were missing. In fact – so were their packs and horses.

It took Laurent's sleep addled brain several more minutes to process the implications of these facts. James and Victoria had abandoned him without a word sometime during the night. It was, perhaps, a testament to their years together that the pair had not taken his purse or anything from his pack. Everything of his remained, but they were gone.

After all this time it was slightly unnerving to be alone.

He recalled Irina's words again as he pondered his next move. More and more, her lifestyle sounded like an ideal solution to his sudden problem. With the Cullens, she was never alone if she did not want to be – always travelling with companions and coming home to a family. He could belong there, couldn't he?

Laurent was guiding his horse to one of the main, safer roads almost before he had a chance to think about it. If nothing else, surely Irina would offer him the shelter of her bed for a few days while he figured out what he would do with the rest of his life.

***

Over a week on

Alice Hale sat up straight in her bed with a cry, jarring her husband from a very deep sleep. Jasper blinked, confused at what had awoken him until his brain picked up on Alice's quick, frantic gasps. He automatically wrapped his arms around her. His wife's tiny form was absolutely rigid. Even in the dim light from the moon he could see her eyes were wide and blank. A vision then. A terrifying one.

"Alice. Tell me what's happening," he said, shaking her slightly. He noticed her hands were gripped the bedspread as if she were holding on for dear life. He shook her again, a little harder, trying to break the hold this vision had on her. "Alice!"

"Get Edward," Alice commanded in a voice barely above a whisper.

Whenever Alice's visions became too much to process on her own, it was always Edward she wanted. It was understandable, of course. She did not have to speak to tell him what was going on in her head. He could see and understand everything she was experiencing, and since it was not his head that was being assaulted; he could usually make better sense of her visions than she could. Jasper knew this and so he pushed aside his wounded feelings that Alice would want her brother instead of her husband. If she was asking for him at this time of night, it had to be serious.

Jasper sprinted up the stairs to the third story. He pounded on Carlisle and Esme's door at the top of the stairs but continued on to the end of the hallway where Edward's room was. He walked in without knocking.

The sound of his door colliding with the wall as Jasper threw it open woke Edward instantly. His eyes found Jasper in his doorway and he opened his mind automatically.

"It's Alice," Jasper was saying. "She's had a vision and she won't tell me about it. She asked for you."

Edward was already in the middle of Alice's visions. Multiple. His eyes widened at what he saw. "Why?!" he said out loud. Before Jasper could respond Edward was out of bed and out his door. Carlisle and Esme were already in the hallway. "Get Eleazar," Edward said to his father. "Alice and I will be downstairs in the command room." He turned to Jasper. "Get everyone up, and dressed. Everyone." Without another word he turned and ran down the steps to his sister, leaving his wide eyed family behind him.

He found Alice standing in the middle of her and Jasper's room. Her hands were on her head, her eyes shut tightly against the images that were assaulting her. One after another they came, uncontrollable. She saw death, carnage and destruction in Forkshire. But as more of their guildmates were awaken her visions started to shift further and further away from the town. That was a start.

"Alice," Edward said, gripping her arm. "Concentrate, Alice. You need to control the visions, and we need to get downstairs. Do you hear me?" Alice didn't move but she nodded her head minutely. He needed to give her one thing to concentrate on if she had any hope of bridling the visions. "Walk," he commanded, tugging her arm again. Robotically, Alice started moving with him. "Where are they coming from?"

Her visions began to get more detailed and didn't skip around as much as they made their way to the downstairs command room. It was the room where all the guild's plans were made. Any attack, and mission they had, everything was planned here before it was executed. Carlisle and Eleazar came into the room only a minute or so after Edward and Alice arrived. Jasper was right behind them.

Carlisle watched Edward and Alice for a moment, taking in the tense scene in front of him. Edward was pulling out a map of Forkshire and the surrounding area, laying it on the large table that occupied the middle of the room. Alice stood in the corner of the room – head bent, and hands tangled in her dark black hair. "Edward, what is going on?"

Edward did not look up. Instead he stabbed at a point on the map with his finger. "The undead army that was amassed up the coast is coming here. Today. Right now."

By that time more of the guildmates had gathered. The shock and horror that ran through the crowd was audible. Jasper put his arms around Alice's taught shoulders. They were all well aware of the undead army that had been stationed, and dormant for months up the coast from Forkshire. The undead were pathetic, damned creatures. They were the reanimated bodies of the dead – lacking anything resembling foresight, compassion or goodness. They were angry creatures, reacting mostly on instinct and rage.

And, of course, they were harder than normal foes to kill. They did not bleed. They would keep fighting until their bodies were entirely decimated – ripped to pieces and smashed beyond usability. Only then would the cursed life-force that kept them animated dissipate.

"How far are they?" Eleazar asked.

"If we don't stop them, they will reach the town about three hours after daybreak. So…perhaps 20 miles away now. They're travelling fast," Edward trailed a route with his finger from the undead's last known whereabouts inwards towards Forkshire.

"How many?" Carlisle asked.

Edward couldn't hold back his grimace. He had seen, in Alice's mind, countless visions in the last 15 minutes. He had glimpsed his friends, all their family – dead. It was the reason she was still mute, why she could not stop shaking even though she was starting to get better control of the visions that inundated her mind. They would be outnumbered regardless. "There are too many of them for just us," he told his father quietly.

Knowing they had little time, Carlisle made an easy decision. "Rouse Sir Swan. We'll need to work with the Knights on this."

Edward was out the door before Carlisle had finished speaking. On his way out of the guild hall he rapped on the stable boy's door. "Prepare the horses, Seth," he commanded as the sleepy teenager joined him in the stable. He brought his own horse out of his stall.

"Whose horses?" Seth asked.

"Everyone's," Edward replied grimly. He did not bother to saddle his horse but climbed up bareback. "Be as quick as you can, Seth. We need to be out of here soon," he told the startled boy before riding out of the stable.

He made the journey to the Swan house in record time. Charles answered the door after only a dozen of Edward's incessant knocks. He was still pulling on his heavy robe over his night clothes. "Edward?"

Behind him Bella emerged, skidding to a halt when she saw him at the door. Her eyes went wide. She knew better than to think him being here at this hour was a good thing.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early but we have little time," Edward said, stepping into the house. He had to force himself to look away from Bella's uneasy expression to Charles. "The short of it is that there's an undead army marching for Forkshire as we speak." At this Charles' mouth dropped open in shock and Bella gasped. "We can head them off before they get here, but we need the Knights with us on this."

"Of course," Charles nodded briskly, and headed towards his room to change.

As soon as he had turned away Edward felt Bella crash into him. He held her securely, moving his hands over her back in reassuring circles. Her arms wound around him so tightly that he could scarcely breathe, but he hardly cared. "We're going to stop them before they come near the town," he said firmly, guessing at the reason for her fear.

Bella released her hold on him just enough to look him in the eyes. "What if something happens to you? Or my father. Or-"

He cupped her face, his eyes both tender and fierce. "Nothing is going to happen."

She raised her hands to grip his wrists, not moving them from her face but just needing to touch him. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes and she could feel the tension in his body. He wasn't as sure about the situation as he was trying to sound. The fact the threat was large enough to require not only the Cullens but the Knights as well was telling…and terrifying.

They held each other for a too-short moment before Charles' door opened and he emerged, dressed in his chainmail armor. Edward leaned down slightly so his eyes were level with Bella's. "Listen to me. Nothing is going to happen," he repeated. "But I need you to promise me something. If anything gets near the town the bells of the chapel will ring. If you hear those bells, you run to the castle. Please," he pleaded, looking into her eyes. "Be safe. Promise me."

"I'll promise if you promise me you'll come for me," Bella said in an equally fierce whisper. "Come for me as soon as the fighting is over."

"I will come for you," he promised. Heedless of her father's presence, Edward kissed her passionately, desperately. His kiss, again, did not match his comforting tone.

When their kiss broke they looked each other in the eyes for just a moment, seeing their own fear reflected back at them. It felt like the worst kind of torture to leave her, but somehow Edward forced himself to place one last kiss on her forehead and he walked out the door.

Bella threw her arms around her father's neck as he passed. "Fa," she said into his chest, unable to articulate anything else. The single syllable betrayed all her dread and helplessness.

Charles held his daughter close. "I'll look out for him," he promised her.

Bella tried to laugh but the sound came out closer to a strangled sob. She squeezed him tighter. "Look out for you. Be careful."

"Always am," he assured her, and then he was gone too.

Sir Tyler and Sir Eric's homes were on the way to the Cullen guild house. They were both roused and instructed to gather the rest of the Knights and ready for battle.

When Charles and Edward arrived at the guild hall, everyone was awake and in motion. Outside the command room, Emmett was in the weapon store, swapping sharp edged weapons like swords and daggers for blunt weapons. Cutting an undead would do nothing to them. Pulverizing on the other hand….

"Edward," Emmett called out in warning as he tossed his brother a long armed, studded mace. Edward caught it easily and nodded his thanks at his brother before ducking into the command room.

His father, Eleazar, Jasper and Alice were all still there, along with a few others. Alice was a lot more animated now, and Edward could see that her visions were becoming easier to manage and a lot less bloody now that the Knights were officially in the scene.

"We meet them just a ways from the Marks' farm," Alice was saying, pointing at a spot on the map about 5 miles outside of town. Edward grimaced. Five miles was not a long enough ways away from Forkshire.

Jasper played a set of notes on a long, reedy flute. Edward felt a rush of urgency and noticed everyone begin to move a little faster. In Alice's mind the vision of the battle fell back further into the woods by another half mile or so.

_Every little bit_, Jasper thought at him. Edward nodded in agreement and turned to run up to his room. He still needed to put on his armor. With Jasper's quick notes still reverberating in his body, he was back downstairs in a matter of minutes.

All in all it took the Cullens and the Knights just slightly more than an hour to get organized and ready. When he turned to find and bid goodbye to his mother, Edward was surprised to find Bella by her side. He should have guessed she would come here. It felt like a knife to his stomach, seeing the fear etched on Bella's face as she stared back at him with troubled eyes. He could tell she had heard much more than he ever would have wanted her to.

He went to her and took her from Esme's embrace. He could feel that she was trembling slightly. "Why is this happening?" she whispered, laying her head on his metal-plated chest.

Alice had come up behind them and answered her question. "I don't know why. I didn't see the trigger and I haven't seen the reason in any of the visions." Alice was distraught. Something as big as this she should have seen coming sooner.

Bella was biting down so hard on her lip Edward was worried that she might draw blood. He removed his glove so he could stroke her lips with the pad of his thumb, trying to soothe her. Bella sighed, relaxing only infinitesimally at his touch. "There are more of them than there are of you?"

"They'll be easy to defeat, even if they have larger numbers than we do. They act mostly in rage," Edward said to assuage her fears.

"Rage and panic are your only real enemies in a fight. Calm is your weapon," Bella recited dutifully. As hard as it had been for Edward to watch, Jasper was truly phenomenal at working with inexperienced fighters. Bella's fighting training was coming along swimmingly. Jasper's rhetoric seemed to be burned into her brain. Edward grinned proudly, eliciting a small smile from Bella. Then she sighed again. "Maybe I could help, Edward. Maybe I can come with you."

"Gods, no!" Edward's voice was strangled in horror. He cupped her face between his large hands, his eyes wide and pained. "I couldn't bear to think of you facing those monsters."

All at once Bella was angry. She looked up at him, eyes blazing. "Do you think I can bear this? To see you there? Or my father? Any of you? At least if I was there I could be of some use, instead of sitting here while you're out fighting!"

At that point Alice wrestled herself between them, hugging Bella tightly. "Nothing bad is going to happen. I would have seen it." Bella furrowed her eyebrows at Alice, glaring pointedly. "Would I lie to you?" Alice asked, too innocently.

"Yes," Bella replied almost instantly. The two women grinned at each other and hugged again.

Before she could even process what was happening the whole family had gathered. Bella was passed from Alice to Emmett who lifted her off her feet in another bear hug. "Don't fret little sister," Emmett said in his cocksure, booming voice. "We'll smash a couple of dead heads and be back home in time for dinner."

Bella hugged him back fiercely. "Make sure you're back in time and I'll make you pound cake." Emmett loved her pound cake. He grinned, laughed and promised he'd be back for pound cake, definitely.

Jasper hugged her and winked, playing a catchy little tune on his flute. Bella immediately felt calm, even a little bit of giddiness wash over her. "I know you're worried, but don't be. Our family is strong," he assured her, squeezing her arm. Bella nodded as surely as she could and kissed his cheek.

Carlisle did not have much time between directing his guild and saying his goodbyes to Esme. But he spared Bella a tight hug and a forehead kiss. She could see concern in his eyes, but also a fierce protectiveness.

Even Rosalie spared a smile when Bella blurted out, "Be careful," in her direction. Even though she and Rosalie had not gotten to the point where they were friends, they were sisters by association at the very least. Despite the nasty looks that had passed between them, Bella could not help but fear for Rosalie's life.

For the second time in less than an hour, Bella wrapped her arms around Edward's neck, pulling him as close as possible. He kissed her again – another too desperate kiss. "Remember what I told you?"

Bella nodded, helpless to stop the tears that spilled over her brimming eyes. Edward tenderly wiped them away, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs and kissing her one more time; a soft, sweet kiss. "I will come back for you," he said.

And then they were all gone. Esme and Bella watched from the yard as the guild rode away. The Knights were going to meet them at the edge of town.

As Esme wrapped her arm around the younger woman's shoulders, Bella noticed the silent tears that spilled down her cheeks. "Does this ever get easier?"

At that Esme let out a quiet sob. "No," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "It never does."

***

Edward was deep in thought as his assembled guildmates, and Charles' Knights, travelled out of the town limits.

Bella's fierce expression when he confessed that he did not want her out on the field with him was ever present in his mind. He hadn't considered until that moment that she would feel the same way he did thinking of her facing monstrous things. He took a moment to consider the shoe on the other foot. How helpless he would feel if he had to watch everyone he loved, leave.

His train of thought was broken as Emmett and Jasper rode up on either side of him. It wasn't so much their presence as it was the loud arguments they were voicing in their head simultaneously. Edward growled in annoyance. "I can't hear you both if you're talking at the same time."

Conceding to Edward's blood brother, Jasper bowed his head to play another short burst on his flute. Emmett gave Edward a pointed look. _Bella could have been out here with us by now._

"I know that." Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a wave of horror at the mere thought. In his mind he saw Bella amidst the abominations Alice had seen in her visions that morning. He shook the thought off as much as possible.

Emmett had been making this same argument since he had found out about Bella's potential. Everyone who knew had, to be entirely honest. Eleazar, Jasper, Alice. Edward bridled under the disapproval, but he knew he couldn't blame them. "It wasn't easy for you in the beginning – seeing Rosalie out here," he said defensively.

Emmett thought back automatically to the way Rosalie had been when she first came to the family. From the moment he saw her, he did not believe there could be a more beautiful or more delicate thing in all of the land. She was scared, he could tell; completely unsure of why her brother was letting an odd little creature like Alice lure them both into an entire hall full of strangers. To Rosalie, anyone other than her brother was just looking for a way to take advantage of her. Emmett had not wanted to protect something so badly in his entire life.

"Hell no, it wasn't easy," Emmett admitted. "It's still not easy. But I'd rather have her here by my side."

Even in his mind, Jasper's voice was soft and understanding, but firm. _Edward, if I could, I would wrap Alice up and tuck her somewhere where I know she'd be safe, no matter what we face out here. But then she would not be my partner. Bella is your equal everywhere else. Let her stand by your side the next time, and face every foe together. That's the way it should be._

Jasper and Alice made a phenomenal team whether they were on the battlefield, on one of the Cullen's more diplomatic missions or simply making decisions for their life together. Apart they were both formidable people, but together – with the connection they shared and the gifts they possessed – they were nearly unstoppable.

Edward tried to look past his anxiety for Bella's safety to imagine her out in the field with him, by his side there as she was in every other aspect of his life. A strong swordsman with the ability to read a person's intent, combined with the potential of her shielding gift and the magic she could no doubt learn to yield – he had to admit, as a strategist, the idea was appealing.

"At the very least she should know she has the choice," Jasper said out loud.

Before Edward could formulate a response the collective shock that suddenly ran through the fighters distracted him. They had ridden to the top of a hillside that overlooked several miles of the forest that surrounded Forkshire. A sickly grey mass could be seen on the horizon. The color was a dead giveaway. It was the color of rot and decay – the tell tale color of the reanimated undead.

And there were a lot of them.

Having been privy to Alice's visions, Edward was not surprised. He stared out grimly, assessing the thoughts of shock, fear and uncertainty that were ringing in the minds around him. He shot Jasper a look. The bard immediately took out his flute to play a bolstering melody. The tension eased some, but barely. Still, Jasper's music rekindled the thrill of the fight in them.

"We would have a tactical advantage if we waited for them here," Eleazar was saying to Carlisle and Charles. The two other men nodded their agreement and bent their heads together for last minute planning. Carlisle gestured for Alice and Edward to join them.

As he went to his father's side Edward tried his hardest to push Bella from his mind so he could concentrate on the coming battle. He knew that he was quickly approaching a point where he would not be able to keep her from altercations such at this but, looking out at the approaching army one last time, Edward couldn't help but be glad that, for now, she was safe in Forkshire.

**A/N:**

**Next I get to try my hand at a battle scene. I'm a little nervous. You know, Stephenie Meyer didn't have to write battle scenes. Bella was either passed out or the vampires were moving so fast she didn't see the action. Convenient, Stephenie. :-p **

**Let me know how I'm doing folks. It means the world to hear from you people out there in fic land.**


	6. Battle

**Chapter 6 – Battle**

**A/N: If you need a visual for the weapons I'm using, check my profile. This chapter and the last are EASILY the most fantasy oriented of the entire story. It occurred to me only later that I didn't have to go into this much detail. I could have pulled a Stephenie and just panned away – but by then I had done all the work. So yea. ******

**Also – not for nothing, but battle scenes SUCK to write. Just fyi. If you don't like reading them I recommend skimming because two very important events happen here.**

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

The dark of night was finally losing out to the breaking dawn as the Cullens and Forkshire's Knights gathered at the top of a hillside. Below them and a ways off in the distance, an undead army was riding for Forkshire. The Cullens and the Knights had arrived in time to intercept the undead before they hit the town, but still needed to tighten their strategy.

Carlisle Cullen did not enjoy this part of his life. For the most part, the Cullens worked at keeping the peace, defending. They tried to stop most altercations before they started. More than anything, Carlisle hated being responsible for robbing any creature – even the damned undead – of life. It was one of the reasons he had become a cleric. His spells and his gift were used to heal and protect, not to destroy.

Regardless of his qualms he would do everything in his power to protect the people and town he loved. Today that meant leading his guild, including his children, into battle.

"The archers should be able to pick off a few from the top of the hillside," Carlisle said, looking to Eleazar and Sir Charles as he spoke.

"And the mages," Alice inserted absently, mages being a catchall term for magic users. She was standing slightly away from all of them, rubbing her head as she tried to make sense of the rapidly flipping visions in her mind. "Not many of them have long range weapons, aside from _their_ mages. But still…there are a few with bows."

"The melee fighters can protect the archers and the mages with their shields while we're on the offense," Charles suggested.

"Then you and the witches behind them," Eleazar added, nodding at Carlisle. "Between you all, you should be able to deflect any of their magical attacks." The other two men nodded, agreeing with the plan. Their strategy for the first wave of the battle was set.

"What will we face on the ground?" Carlisle asked, looking at Edward and Alice. Alice turned herself inward, focusing on the battle that would happen once the undead army got too close for long-range fighting.

"Most of them are fighters," Edward murmured, narrating Alice's visions as he saw them. "There aren't a lot of mages. A majority of them are small – elfin, I would say, but there are a few humans, and even a few gnome sized and…." Edward's eyes suddenly snapped open and he cursed. "There's a giant. Melee fighter, of course, carrying a nasty looking flail and heavily armored."

Carlisle, Eleazar and Charles moved to the edge of the hill, looking at the approaching army. "I don't see any giant, and I'd think it'd be easy enough to spot," Charles mumbled. Being a Knight in a Kingdom as small as Forkshire, Charles had not encountered as many beings or challenges as the Cullens had.

"Giants move slower," Eleazar responded. He turned back to Edward and Alice. "Does it travel alone?"

It was Alice who answered. "I don't ever see it alone. Sometimes there are as few as two, sometimes as many as four smaller dead heads with it."

Carlisle and Eleazar considered this new problem for a moment, each of their minds shuffling through their roster of troops, trying to figure out the best grouping to take on such a challenge. A live giant was a force to be reckoned with. An undead giant, particularly an armored one, was difficult to fell. When Eleazar looked up, his expression was apologetic. "I think our best bet is to send Emmett, Edward, Carmen and Charlotte after the giant, Carlisle. They can destroy as many as possible on the way to find it, but that giant will be the biggest threat."

Having already heard it in Eleazar's thoughts, Edward was not surprised by the plan. He concentrated on his father, hearing Carlisle's anxiety though years of experience in the heat of battle kept the emotion from his face. Sending both of his sons to face, potentially, the worst monster out on the field was a decision no father should have had to make.

However, Carlisle was not just a father. He was also a leader, and as a leader he was no fool. Physical attacks were the best bet with this quarry and so mages were out. Emmett was their strongest and physically largest warrior. He was probably the only one amongst the Cullens and the Knights combined that could stand one on one with a giant and even hope to hold his own. Edward was both one of their best physical fighters and, with his gift, offered the best defense. Additionally, he was a natural strategist, quick with his wits even in the midst of battle. Charlotte was a fast and agile fighter, her tiny, Alice-sized frame able to dart around with speed and stealth. She had studied under some of the best rogues in the land, and while she usually preferred daggers, she was equally adept with bolos. Carmen, Eleazar's wife, was a witch skilled in using her skills for defense. She would act as the protector of the group.

Carlisle nodded one short, quick nod to let Eleazar know that he accepted this plan. The three men quickly set about separating their remaining troops into loose groupings. They arranged the melee fighters were on the front lines, with the mages and archers right behind them. At the back of the line, Carlisle and the few witches – Rosalie among them – would provide defense.

With less than half an hour left until the army would be within range, the gathered troops set about last minute preparations.

Set a little further back in the woods were the wagons that held all their supplies, along with the horses all the fighters had left behind. Seth, the stable boy, was assigned to the Cullen's wagon and the care of the horses. As he went to retrieve his shield, Edward heard the boy's fervent desire to join in the fight. "I know it's going to sound like I'm patronizing you," Edward told the boy as he worked on strapping the shield to his left arm, "but we really do need you more here than we need you on the field."

The boy looked skeptical to say the least. "Trust me Seth; someone is going to have to run here, to get a new weapon, or whatever else they need. They're going to need to get back as quickly as possible. You're the only one out here that can help them with that."

When he had secured Seth's promise that he would not try to join the fight, Edward rushed with the others back to the top of the hillside.

Almost everyone was gathered and as ready as they could possibly be. Sir Charles' Knights, including the King's Master of Hounds William Black, his apprentice Sam Uley and their now 4 gigantic dogs – Jacob, Embry, Quil and Jared – intermingled with the Cullen's forces. Edward assessed everyone's thoughts to see if anyone was in need of some last minute bolstering, or unsure of their role in the coming fight.

"Are we as ready as we can be?" his father asked, coming up beside him.

Edward's mouth quirked once as he picked up on thoughts from the Packmasters. "William Black and his apprentice are less than enthused about working with us," Edward reported in a soft voice. He heard Carlisle's mental sigh. Many years prior, Carlisle had promised that they could save William's wife. Through a totally unexpected turn of circumstance she had been lost. Since then, William had not trusted the Cullens, and had apparently spread his dislike on to Sam. "But they know what's at stake. They won't be a problem, and the dogs will likely be very effective in this particular fight."

He looked up at his father with a grim but determined face."The newer among us range from scared out of their minds to entirely too eager for this battle – but that's to be expected. I have every confidence in them."

Carlisle nodded, clapping his son on the shoulder. "They've been well trained. I only wish that this was not their first full test."

"Fifteen minutes. Probably a little less," Alice called from her position in the line. In response to her words Jasper played a complicated melody on his flute sending waves of encouragement, inner strength and the lust for battle through the gathered force.

Nodding once at his father, Edward went to take his place at the front lines. He crouched in front of Tanya Denali, one of their best archers, and put his arm out, shield first, in a defensive position. He was centered. Ready for battle.

_I told you I would have you at my feet someday, Edward._

The thought, so out of place for the setting, startled Edward. He spared a backward glance at the woman who stood behind him. She was smirking, amused at her joke. He gave her a look, arching one eyebrow.

Tanya chuckled. "You're too serious, Edward. Loosen up a bit. This is going to be easy. Fun, even."

"Says the woman holding a flaming arrow," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "All I get to do right now is hold a piece of metal in the air, cousin."

Tanya grinned again, brushing off his not so subtle reminder of his feelings toward her. She waved the flaming arrow once in front of him. The bodies of the undead fighters were not filled with blood, but a highly flammable, sulfurous compound. The actual arrow would not hurt them but the fire would destroy them. At least, that was the hope.

"Start your attack as soon as they get in range," Carlisle called from the back and center of the line.

The first round of offense went as well as could possibly be expected. As the front lines of the undead fighters got closer, more and more of them were on fire. The tangles of writhing, flaming bodies added confusion to the undead's mindset of rage, further evening up the playing field. They still had a significantly larger number than the Cullens and the Knights.

As the undead army neared the base of the hill, Eleazar's voice called out "Reform, quickly. Defensive positions and wait for Carlisle's order before you attack."

Edward got to his feet, freeing the mace from his belt even as he deflected another projectile. He wished Tanya good luck and began to make his way toward his designated group. As he ran, he did a quick scan of the minds around him. From the undead minds there was just the clamor of anger without much sense. He concentrated on his allies. It seemed the first round had caused none of his friends or family any serious injury. The young recruit Peter was silently cursing the flesh wound from an arrow that had gotten too close, but that was the worst of it. Edward felt a satisfied smirk begin to pull at the corner of his lips, but he beat it back quickly. The fight had only just begun.

As he passed he heard his father's silent prayer for the continued safety of the gathered allies. There was no time for additional wishes of luck, so Edward made sure he caught Jasper, Alice and Rosalie's eyes as he gathered with Emmett, Carmen and Charlotte. Their group was in the second line, needing to get through the initial grouping of undead to find their quarry as quickly as possible.

The woods were filled with the stench of decay and rot, and the noise of the belligerent warriors. It was a revolting smell that nauseated and revolted most of the gathered humans. When the clamoring, putrid mass had reached about the midpoint of the hill Carlisle called for the charge.

Edward fell into formation behind and to the right of his brother, Charlotte taking the left side, and Carmen behind them. Emmett, dressed head to toe in heavy, metal armor, carried a gigantic battleaxe that required both hands to swing. One side was sharp, the other blunt. He entered the fray with an enthusiastic whoop as he drove his axe into the torso of the first undead he saw.

Emmett cut a path through the sea of undead soldiers, disabling as many as he could without slowing them down. Charlotte and Edward never left his side, fighting off the spares as they ran. Carmen kept up a constant stream of charms – some of them used to confuse their opponents, sending them stumbling away, and some of them used to slow their movements, making them easier to pick off.

Ducking to avoid a swinging sword, Edward wielded his mace into the spindly, bone legs of an attacker. This particular, vaguely humanoid figure did not wear much in the way of armor and so the blow broke through its bone easily.

"We need an exit, Carmen!" Edward called as he smashed the skull of his attacker. He heard a whistling sound as Charlotte's bolos flew by him and knocked down two of the approaching undead that had been in front of him. She was on them in a flash, swinging the ball of her weapon into their chest cavities with strong, bone-shattering blows.

He heard the tinkling of glass vials as Carmen quickly concocted some potion. Distracted as he was by the attacking dead heads, Edward didn't see her plan until she had flung the contents of the vial into the middle of the thickest grouping in front of them. A dark, black cloud of some smoky substance rose from the spot, engulfing the undead almost completely.

"Go on," Alice's voice came from behind them as she ran up with Jasper at her heels. "We can get this group easily enough." As if to demonstrate, she pointed her staff at a spot in the cloud, calling out a few short words. The air above them crackled as a bolt of lightning came down just in time to hit one of the undead as it emerged from the black smoke. The bolt of electricity ignited the undead's body. _Heading west from here doesn't seem to be fruitful. Try north, _Alice thought in between conjuring lightning bolts.

Nodding thanks at his sister, Edward tapped on Emmett's back, pointing out the appropriate direction. The four set off again, knocking out a few more skeletal fighters down as they ran to the outskirts of the battle.

As they got further into the forest and the sounds of the battle faded, Emmett let out a frustrated grumble. "We're wasting our time when we could be fighting. Where is this thing?"

"We need a better view. It's a giant – we should be able to see it or hear it from a distance," Edward agreed. He thought back to Alice's vision, trying to gage where in the forest the giant would be. Of course, it all looked the same.

Quiet Charlotte was deep in thought, glancing up at the treetops. _Better view from up there. _"I'll see if I can spot it," Charlotte said, not waiting for any agreement before she climbed up onto one of the thick, low branches of one of the nearby trees. She made her way up the tree quickly and agilely, getting to the top in just over a minute. From her vantage point she could see the battle, and for about a mile radius all around. Edward, seeing through her eyes from her thoughts, spotted the giant first. He was to the east a ways, and there seemed to be a few smaller figures with him as he stormed through the trees.

"To the east," Edward told his brother, motioning with his hand. "Actually, by the time we get to him, he'll be damn close to the battle, just on the other side."

"Then I suppose we'll have to move fast," Emmett responded. _Wish the horses were nearby. _He had a brief thought about stealing one of the undead horses that were running about, having been abandoned by their masters.

"No," Edward warned as Charlotte landed on her feet next to them. "There's no way we could control one of their horses."

"Relax, it was just a thought," Emmett replied, rolling his eyes at his brother.

"Enough chatter," Carmen said. "We have a job to do. Onwards, young ones."

"Yes, mam!" Emmett responded, laughing as he started off in the direction Edward had pointed out.

As they got nearer to the battle again, Emmett started to jog quite a bit faster. Edward could hear the eagerness in his mind – the need to fight. He itched to veer off course and throw himself into the middle of the fray – where he usually was.

"Listen!" Carmen called.

The group stilled for a moment as they obeyed. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance, but also, from very close by, there was a deep pitched growling, accompanied by the distinct sound of heavy footfalls. Edward glanced around. Here was as good a place for an ambush as any. There were a few rock outcroppings and a group of felled trees; plenty of places to hide.

"Scatter," Edward commanded.

At his word the group flew into movement. Charlotte scaled a tree again, sitting on a thick branch high enough that she would not be at eye level even with the giant but low enough that she could get to the ground fairly easily when she needed to. Carmen opted to hide one of the rock outcroppings. Edward and Emmett both went behind the felled trees. Emmett stayed on the ground while Edward stood on one tree to peer over into the clearing they had just vacated.

Edward cursed inwardly when the giant came into view. He did not curse at the sight of it, like his companions did though it was a fairly intimidating sight. Standing at several heads taller than Emmett, and almost twice as broad, the thing would have been frightening enough just in stature. In addition to its size, the giant's appearance was downright startling. While most of the undead could be considered merely hideous, this beast's skeletal head – gray, decayed skin hanging off it in places – was the stuff the most gruesome nightmares were made of.

No, Edward cursed at the smaller figures beside the giant.

There were five of them. One more than Alice had seen even in the worst of her visions. Five fighters to their three – they were not odds that Edward liked, by a long shot.

He caught Charlotte's eye, holding up two fingers and motioning toward the pair of undead that stood to the right of the giant. Charlotte nodded her understanding.

"Do you think you can handle it alone for a few minutes while Charlotte and I take care of the other five?" Edward whispered to Emmett.

Emmett chuffed in indignation. "When I finish him, I'll come help _you_," he retorted. Edward rolled his eyes at his brother's confidence, but grinned.

"All right, follow right after me then." With that, Edward scrambled to the top of the woodpile. He thwacked his mace against a tree to get their attention.

Immediately, the growling undead beings started toward them, yelling with raspy voices. It was rare that you could make out what one of their kind was saying. Everything about the undead was decayed, from their humanity to vocal chords and jawbones.

As Edward ran forward, Charlotte's bolos went flying by, tangling around the legs of one of the targets he had assigned her. Edward ran headlong into two of his targets, throwing them backward with his shield while his mace blocked the swinging staff of the third. The first two undead stumbled and Edward used the spare second to swing the edge of his shield into the torso of the third undead. He heard its bones crack, and the incensed sounds emanating from the thing got even angrier.

Meanwhile, the giant had caught up with the group. It looked to be about to go after Edward when suddenly a rock hit it square on the side of the head, sending a loud metal clang from the impact on its helmet through the clearing.

"Hey! Ugly!" Emmett cried in a booming voice. "You with the face like a canker sore!"Emmett kept up a persistent string of taunts at the giant, from vivid, unflattering descriptions of its face to insulting its mother, until it was ambling toward him, snarling monstrously.

As much as he wanted to concentrate on his brother, Edward had his own problems. All three of the undead he had been facing were coming at him, even the one with the horribly mangled torso. He had no time, only able to bring his shield up in front of his face to block the two swords that were being swung at him. The mangled undead's staff caught him behind the legs, sweeping his feet right out from under him. Combined with the force of the swords impacting his shield, Edward went flying several feet backward, into the brush that surrounded the clearing. He landed hard on his back, his breath leaving him in a pained whoosh.

Of course, his opponents gave him no chance to recover. One was on him, sword swinging down him as if to cut him right down the center. Pushing aside the pain in his chest, Edward rolled to the side, smashing his mace into the undead's legs in the next movement. This one had armor on and so it merely stumbled. The second one came at him then, forcing Edward to block with his shield as he got to his feet. As he swung on the second one and blocked the first's next swing, he tried to figure out where the mangled one had gone. The last thing he needed was a surprise attack.

A quick glance toward the last spot that he had seen it showed that Carmen had used her witch's magic to charm and animate one of the trees; its massive branches now held the snarling, struggling, mangled undead.

Just then a scream pierced the air. Charlotte. A quick glimpse into her thoughts and Edward heard a colorful string of curses, in several languages, he had never heard the girl utter out loud. Her hands were clasped around her leg, putting pressure on a deep gash there. He could see that both of her opponents were downed, though the arm of the last one – dagger still gripped tight in its decayed, sickly white fingers, - was twitching with the last bit of life it had left.

Knowing Carmen would help her, Edward forced himself to focus on his own opponents. Hearing Charlotte's scream and knowing his brother was still facing the giant alone had given Edward a much needed rush of adrenaline. He rushed the first undead, plowing him up against a tree with his shield. He laid all his body weight into the rush, and when he had the undead pinned he thrust the butt of his mace straight into its face. He released it, the writhing and flailing body falling to the forest floor.

He turned just in time to bring his mace to bear on the armored undead. The tip of its sword scratched gratingly against Edward's body armor while Edward's mace impacted its helmet. They went at each other a few more times, not really doing any damage except to the other's armor. The undead made its fatal move when it stretched its arms above its head to grip the sword with two hands. As it did, a strip of unarmored torso was exposed. Edward swung his mace hard at that spot. The impact was enough to break the brittle bones there, separating the undead's upper body from its lower.

Edward wasted no time in decimating the remaining bones of the two undead until, finally, all bits and pieces of them were still.

By that time, Emmett and the giant moved, in the midst of their fighting, several hundred yards away. They were closer than ever to the larger battle. Edward ran toward the sound, leaving the struggling, mangled undead in its prison of branches. As he ran, he scanned Charlotte's and Carmen's thoughts. Carmen was applying a salve to Charlotte's wounds. Charlotte was eager to get back on her feet and over to Emmett.

Edward could hear in Emmett's thoughts that he was using a strategy of dodging and moving a lot. The giant moved slower, and often couldn't keep up with the way Emmett darted around. Emmett had managed a number of good hits. Edward could see from Emmett's eyes where the giant's armor had been pierced with Emmett's huge war axe.

As he got closer to his brother and his undead opponent, Edward tried scanning the giant's thoughts. He saw what was about to happen a split second too late to stop it, or even cry out a warning.

Being so ruled by instinct, the undead almost never performed something as sneaky as a feint. Technically, the giant decided mid-swing that he didn't want to smash Emmett's skull – he wanted to punch holes in the irritating human's body and watch him bleed and scream. He had been bringing the flail toward Emmet's head – where Emmett was already moving his axe in a deflecting position – when the giant switched and swung directly at Emmett's side.

The force of the impact sent Emmett flying, arms flailing, as the sickening sound of puncturing metal filled the air. He rolled several times before coming to a halt, face up and eyes wide in surprise and shock.

Edward was already running toward them. He hardly recognized his own voice screaming out a guttural war cry as he thrust himself between his brother and the giant. Dropping to a crouch by Emmett's side, Edward raised his shield over his bent head, catching the ball of the flail as the giant swung it again. He could feel the force of the blow digging him into the ground, he could hear the metal of his shield piercing, though the spikes of the flail did not get all the way through, he could feel the bands of the shield cutting into his arm, but his body did not register any of the pain. He did not give the giant time to recover, bringing himself out of the crouch before the giant could pull out of his swing. As he stood he brought his mace at the giant's arm with more force than he would have imagined himself capable of. The bone, exposed from Emmett's previous efforts, shattered, sending splinters of sickly grey everywhere as the giant stumbled off balance.

The giant roared, swinging his still attached arm at Edward. Edward dodged easily, taking a chunk out of the giant's exposed upper leg, though not enough to topple it.

He heard Carmen's startled thoughts as she and Charlotte came into the clearing. She rushed to Emmett's side and Edward was grateful. He knew that barely a minute had gone by since Emmett was hit, but he knew that with the injuries his brother had likely suffered, he needed help now, and every minute counted.

_Edward, _Charlotte's thoughts entered his mind. He could hear her trying to push the pain out of her mind so she could help him. Her leg was heavily bandaged. _Catch. _She had lengthened the chain links between the balls of her bolos. She threw one ball at Edward and he saw her plan. With the chain link chord stretched between them, they ran at the giant's legs, Edward dodging its swinging arm again as he passed. The giant fell face forward with a crash that shook the ground. Charlotte jumped onto its legs. The backs of the metal leg plates it wore were a vulnerable spot as there was only metal on the front with straps on the back. The backs of its legs were exposed. Charlotte drove her fists, covered in heavy brass knuckles, into the backs of the giant's knees with all the force she had in her tiny body.

Spotting his brother's discarded weapon, Edward threw down his mace and quickly undid the ties of his shield. He threw it to the ground as soon as it was loose. Though he normally did not have the strength it took to wield the gigantic war axe, Edward lifted it over his head and brought it down on the giant's free arm. The axe cut through the armor easily, severing the giant's arm from its body.

"Help Emmett, I have this!"Charlotte yelled, picking up his discarded mace as she attacked every exposed spot she could find on the giant in rapid succession. Edward didn't have to be told twice. He pivoted and ran to where Carmen was crouched over Emmett, dropping the axe as easily as he had picked it up.

Edward landed on his knees beside his brother, taking in as much of the situation as possible. Emmett was awake and alert – his eyes were as wide as saucers, staring straight up. His mind was blank, only interpreting the pain that wracked his body. His breath was coming out in short, wet gasps. There was blood on his lips. Blood on his lips plus that horrible rasping meant there was likely blood in his lungs.

Carmen was trying to get his pierced chest plate loose. As she peeled it away from Emmett's body, Edward could see she was trying to be gentle. Still, Emmett let out a pained cry, his eyes shutting tightly.

Even as children, Edward had never heard Emmett cry out like that. His heart sunk into his stomach as his brother's wounds were revealed. Emmett groaned, gritting his teeth to keep from yelling again as Edward tried to see how severe the wounds were. Emmett's undershirt was soaked with blood and ripped to shreds where the flail's spikes had penetrated his armor.

There were three separate holes in Emmett's side. Three holes where countless vital organs could have been pierced. Three holes that oozed blood at an alarming rate. Edward had to fight back the urge to panic. This was bad. This was very bad.

Automatically, he called for the one person he both needed and wanted desperately in that moment. "Carlisle!"

***

Meanwhile, in Forkshire

It was not even close midday yet and Bella thought she would go insane.

She'd felt guilty leaving Esme alone, but there was nothing she could do in the empty Cullen Guild hall. Her own home was just as empty. It all reminded her that everything she had; nearly everyone she cared for was gone – their fates uncertain. She needed something to do with her hands; something that would alleviate her sense of helplessness.

Esme had assured her that she understood Bella's need and had declined Bella's offer to come with her to the bakery.

When she got to the bakery Angela was already there, stirring cookie dough in a bowl as she sniffled occasionally. When she looked up Bella could see her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Of course. Bella cursed herself for not guessing Angela was here. Her suitor, Ben Cheney, was among the Knights. Her father, the town's minister, would be locked in prayer all day. She too had nowhere else to go.

Bella went to her friend and wrapped her arms around her. Angela hugged her back just as tightly. Neither of them had words of comfort so they didn't speak, both just communicating their mutual fears through their embrace.

They parted after a minute and Bella forced a smile. "When you're done with those, I need your help. Emmett wants pound cake with dinner. I was thinking it would be nice if there was enough for everyone."

If Angela thought it was strange that Bella was talking as if today were any normal day, and dinner would be served right on time as usual, she did not show it. She simply nodded and went to throw out the cookie dough, no longer interested in that particular dessert.

They started to bake enough pound cake for all the fighters. Bella knew it was unlikely that all of the fighters that had left today would come back, but if she thought about that she felt like she would drown in the foreboding feeling that threatened to consume her. There was some part of her that felt if they each had something waiting for them, everyone would come home. Not a piece of her cake should go uneaten. Each was designated for one of the men or women fighting in the forest.

When the first batch was in the huge clay oven, Bella picked up the bowls and went to the back room to wash them. The water in the basin was lukewarm as her hands slid into it. With the delicious smells of baking cake filling the air and her hands busy with familiar, comforting tasks, some of her worry had ebbed. She was still anxious and terrified, but it was beginning to seem bearable.

Without warning, a large, dirty hand clamped over her mouth snapping her head back against a hard chest. At the same time another hand snaked around her torso, effectively pinning her arms to her sides. "Quiet now, little one," a taunting voice said in her ear.

Her long afternoons training with Jasper kicked in automatically. Using her attacker's grip on her as leverage, Bella kicked her feet out, bracing them against the sink and throwing herself backward. Her attacker was not prepared for this move and he struggled for balance. His hold on her loosened and she brought her arms up and out, breaking his grip on her completely. She threw herself back against her assailant again, driving her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could. She heard him gasp and a clatter as he fell back against a rack of dishes and pans.

Bella pivoted and ran for the door. The sight at the front of the bakery brought her to a halt so quickly that her feet skidded a little against the wood floor. She froze, unsure of what to do in this situation. Jasper had taught her how to get away from an attacker, even a group of attackers, but this was something she was not prepared for.

A feral looking female with the most vibrant red hair Bella had ever seen stood by the counter. Her left hand was over Angela's mouth while her right hand held a dagger to the trembling girl's throat.

"Take one more step and I swear I will end her," the woman threatened. The look in her eyes left Bella with no doubt that she meant it. She could hear Angela's muffled whimper.

Before she could respond, Bella heard the unmistakable sound of quick, though muted, footsteps behind her. She turned to see a tall man with long, dirty blond hair and a furious, frightening expression striding toward her. Again, Bella was frozen. Her mind and body fought for control over the fight or flight response that nearly overwhelmed her. If she were alone, either would have been preferable to letting this man approach her with those livid eyes that promised he was going to hurt her for hurting and humiliating him.

But she wasn't alone. She could hear Angela's terrified shrieking, muted by the wild woman's hand over her mouth, as the man grabbed a fistful of Bella's dress. He threw her roughly against the counter. Bella's arms went out automatically to catch her fall. Instead she only managed to send dishes and platters crashing to the floor with her, the sound of shattering glass loud in the confined space of the shop. Bella landed on her back on the floor amidst a mess of broken glass. She could feel small shards cutting the skin of her arm and the back of her head.

The man towered over her in the next second. Before she even had a chance to move he had grabbed her wrist, yanking her violently up. He pushed her against the wall, pinning her with a hand to her chest while the other hand pressed against her throat. He squeezed and Bella couldn't breathe. She wrapped both her hands around his wrist, her fingernails digging into his skin. He didn't even flinch. His long fingers only clenched tighter around her throat.

Bella's chest began to burn with the need for air. She twisted under her attacker's hand, trying desperately to get away, but he held her fast. She was getting lightheaded – the corners of her vision beginning to blur.

"James," the woman said sharply. "Enough. You'll kill her. We are supposed to leave her relatively unharmed, aren't we?"

The man let out a low growl, his furious eyes locked with Bella's wide, terror-stricken ones. Giving her throat one last, harsh squeeze he released her, stepping away. Bella collapsed on her knees immediately, one hand bracing against the floor to keep her from crumpling completely while the other stayed at her neck. She sputtered and coughed as she drew in lungful after lungful of air. Breathing was genuinely painful. Her throat felt raw as if she'd been inhaling gravel.

The man, James, had not moved as she sat there, gasping. When she had caught her breath again, Bella looked up. He was still seething, she could see that much. She battled back her fear, swallowing convulsively. "What do you want with us? Why are you doing this?" she asked when she was sure she could speak without a quiver. Her voice was raspy, as if she'd been screaming for hours.

James clenched his hands into fists at his side, visibly trying to get a hold on his anger. He reached for her suddenly, the movement so quick, Bella didn't even have time to process it before he had her on her feet and pinned against the wall again. This time he kept his hands at her shoulders.

"You are going to be quiet and do as I say, when I say it," James began in a low, threatening voice. "Do you understand?"

He could see the fear in her eyes, but also the anger. Her mouth was set in a thin line. She held his gaze for a brief moment before turning her head away from him, refusing to acknowledge him. He knew the look in her eyes. He had tracked many quarries before and he knew within minutes how much of an annoyance they'd be. This one promised to be nothing but trouble. He already knew that she thought on her feet, and she was neither quaking nor pleading with him to let her go. Stubborn, he decided, since she was obviously frightened.

She also had no intention of obeying him.

Bella's eyes had settled on Angela, still held with a dagger at her neck. He could see that she was trying to offer her friend silent reassurance. A new plan began to formulate in his mind.

He gripped her chin, forcing her to turn her head. Bella glared back at him defiantly and James sneered at her. "You listen to me. It's you I'm after. That one," he pointed at Angela, "is of no consequence to me. Now, if you cooperate I won't hurt her. You have my word on that – but if you cause me any trouble whatsoever, well I'm just going to have to take it out on her. Do you understand that? She's worthless to me, and I'll kill her if you make me."

Bella's eyes were wide with horror but she didn't respond. He gripped her chin tighter. "Answer me," he snarled at her.

"I understand," Bella said quickly. Her voice was rough, harsh both in tone and quality.

"You've wasted enough of our time," he snapped, letting her go. He walked across the small bakery to where he had left his pack at the front door. "Victoria, get your cloak."

The red haired woman pushed Angela toward Bella immediately at James' command. Angela let out a small cry, her fear overwhelming her. Bella quickly put her arms around Angela protectively. She kept her eyes on James as she tried to comfort her friend. Though her heart was beating frantically she managed to keep her face free of fear. For Angela's sake, she would be brave.

James had pulled a long, black traveling cloak from his bag. He tossed it at Bella's feet. Victoria had pulled out a similar cloak from her own pack which she also tossed at the girls. "Put them on," James demanded. "Now!" he bellowed when neither of them moved. Bella squeezed Angela's shoulders, urging her silently to obey, and picked up the cloak. To her great relief Angela followed suit.

"You will keep your hoods up and your heads down. If we are approached by anyone you will not say a word." James' voice left no room for argument. Bella and Angela obeyed his directions in absolute silence, afraid to push him.

The two women were herded outside and onto the waiting horses. James had Bella in front of him on his horse and Victoria was again in charge of Angela. The streets of Forkshire were eerily empty, as they had been all that morning. Most everyone who was not out in the forest fighting was waiting for someone to come home. They headed out of town in the opposite direction the fighters had taken that morning. It was only barely midday.

Bella's mind was racing as fast as the horse's speeding hooves. She was frightened, teetering on the very edge of a panic she fought back viciously. She was not naïve to the endless amounts of horrible fates that could be in store for her.

What worried Bella impossibly more than her own and Angela's safety were James' words from the bakery. "_It's you I'm after."_ For the life of her she could not understand why anyone would send a man like James after her. She was just a girl; a civilian woman with no special gifts or talents further than the ability to make delicious desserts. Surely her turnovers and cakes posed a threat to no one. She had no enemies that she could recall. She was nobody.

Unless, of course, one took into consideration her ties to Edward and the rest of the Cullens. When Edward had told her of Alice's vision, Bella had not been afraid for her own welfare. Rather, her immediate fear of that fate revolved around Edward. Her biggest fear was becoming a pawn Aro could use to manipulate him, and claim him.

Then, how did the battle that raged in the ever further distance fit into this equation? Was there any connection between these two wild nomads and the undead army that the Cullens and the Knights faced?

More importantly – would she ever know if Edward, and all the people she loved in this world, had survived that fight?

**Ack. **

**That chapter was unbearably hard to write. Between what I had to do to Emmett (which killed me by the way, I want you to know) and having to write a battle…just…let's not do that again, mmkay?**

**Other things that made this chapter later than usual – Ninapolitan's DILF contest. I wrote a story for it called All Becomes All Right. It's a canon Sue/Billy to Sue/Charlie fic. Yea, I know – I have no idea what I was thinking either. Anyway, you should check out the contest, there are some fan-flipping-tastic stories there. You can find a link to it in my profile.**

**You should know by now that reviews mean the world to authors, so if you have anything at all to say, please – say it. ******** Much love!**


	7. Aftermath

**Chapter 7 – Aftermath**

**Dedication – To my Cella who threatened to dismember her laptop and has worked tirelessly over a little idea we had called Twi-Hard fics. Come join us. We post, read and chat fic all the live long day. Twihardfics ( dot ) ning (dot) com**

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

Edward's cry for his father had sent Charlotte running to find him. Meanwhile, Edward pushed aside his panic to remember what little field medical knowledge he had. He suddenly cursed his decision to turn away from magic. He had once considered following his father's footsteps into the healing arts, but had ultimately decided he was better as a fighter. He had never regretted that decision before now.

Carmen had removed Emmett's helmet and was balling up her cloak to put it under his head. Edward could hear her thoughts, vaguely registering the sorrow that filled her mind. She didn't think Emmett was going to survive. She was trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

Emmett's cloudy mind was in a similar disposition. Wracked with pain, he was trying to figure what he had done to deserve damnation. He tried to breathe through it; tried to separate his mind from his physical body. Nothing worked. If anything, the pain seemed to multiply.

"Emmett, open your eyes," Edward commanded urgently. "Stay with me."

Used to following commands from his younger brother, Emmett obeyed, blinking rapidly against the light. His eyes briefly focused on Edward's face and he groaned. _Damn. I know you're pretty, little brother, but yours is not the angelic face I was hoping to see when I died. _

"You're not dead. You're not going to die, Em," Edward said firmly. He had pressed his hand over the middle wound – below his chest and above his stomach. It was the least likely to have damaged anything internal. His free hand hovered over the two remaining wounds, trying to decide if he could staunch the flow of blood without damaging Emmett any further.

The first was too near Emmett's stomach for Edward's comfort. His muscular physique had likely kept the damage at a minimum, but the wound still looked deep enough to have pierced his stomach. He knew that wounds to that are were extraordinarily painful.

There was no other choice. Emmett was just losing too much blood too quickly. Grimacing at the thought of causing his brother more pain, Edward muttered, an ardent apology. "I'm so sorry; this is not going to be pleasant."

A coughing fit ripped through Emmett as he tried to speak. He choked, sending a spray of blood across his chest and Edward's armor. His head lulled as each convulsion ripped through his body sending fresh waves of agony through him. As the fit passed he gasped for air. _Because this has been joy so far, _he finally retorted mentally.

With a frown, Edward pressed down hard on the stomach wound, bracing himself mentally for his brother's reaction. Emmett threw his head back, an agonized cry emanating from his very core before he could bite rein it in. His back arched off the ground, his body twisting into a W as he writhed against Edward's hands. Edward sent an urgent look to Carmen who soothed Emmett back down again. He was panting hard, all the color drained from his face and his usual easy smile replaced by gritted teeth. His breaths were wet, rattling with the blood in his throat and his lungs. "I'm sorry," Edward repeated, hating to hurt his brother. Emmett's only response was to groan.

Where was Carlisle? Edward reached mentally, searching for his father's familiar and comforting voice. He found Charlotte first. She was replaying Carlisle's words from a moment before, when she had found him and told him. "Get Garrett, he's at the base camp. Get the wagon over to Emmett." He hadn't waited for Charlotte's response before he was running in the direction she had pointed out.

"Just a minute more," Edward promised. He didn't need his gift to know that Emmett was struggling to conceal his agony. His suffering was etched on every line of his face; was written in the dirt as his hands clutched at the ground uselessly.

Finally, Carlisle appeared in Edward's eyesight. He knew that not ten minutes had passed since the giant had swung its weapon at Emmett, but it felt like an eternity. So much of his brother's blood lay on the ground, stained his clothes…slipped through Edward's own hands. _Too much_. Carlisle's voice echoed his own in his head.

Carmen stood and Carlisle took her place at Emmett's side. Emmett's eyes were closed, but his mind registered his father's presence and it brought him a measure of comfort. As Carlisle chronicled each wound, his gift giving him an idea of the damage inside, there was a small grain of panic at the back of his mind. With every wound his fear intensified. He murmured a spell, and the simple, middle wound began to close. He was struggled to repair the worse, internal ones. By the time Garrett, their field medic, had joined them, Carlisle had managed to slow the bleeding considerably. _There's too much damage for me to fix this. _

"Seth is on his way with the wagon. We need to get him inside, somewhere where we have water, and at least a cleaner surface than this," Garrett said urgently as he worked over Emmett. Whatever he was doing had Emmett grinding his teeth together to keep from crying out. He groaned and coughed with the exertion. Garrett looked up at Carlisle. "He won't make it as far as Forkshire."

Edward stood, backing off as Garrett took his place, his fingers probing the lower of Emmett's wounds, trying to see how deep it went. Emmett's eyes shot open with the pain that pierced his entire body. It felt as if Garrett was driving a sharp spike straight into his stomach. He might have let go of the last measure of composure right then, if he hadn't heard Rosalie's voice from nearby.

"Emmett. Oh, gods! Emmett!" she cried as she ran toward them.

Emmett's eyes were covered with a blurry haze as they rolled, searching for Edward. Beside the pain, Edward could see a new kind of anguish there as Emmett's eyes found his. _Please, don't let her see me like this. Get her away from here! _His thoughts were urgent and desperate. Edward could see he didn't think he could keep it together for very much longer.

Nodding at his brother, Edward spun and went to catch Rosalie before she could get all the way over to Emmett. Without thinking he reached a hand out to stop her and she screamed. Of course. His hands were covered in Emmett's blood.

Cursing his stupidity, Edward looked over her shoulder. Jasper had heard Rosalie's screams and had come running, Alice not far behind him. She had seen the vision of Emmett the split second after Rosalie had screamed. Before that she had been concentrating on her own battles, keeping her visions focused so that she could defeat her opponents.

Edward gave Jasper an apologetic look, nodding his head at Rosalie. The color drained from Jasper's face as he took amount of blood that stained Edward's hand and chest. He abruptly understood the gravity of the situation. He wrapped his strong arms around Rosalie, restraining her. He tried to sooth her, to get her to understand that she couldn't disturb Carlisle and Garrett, but Rosalie would not be comforted."Let me go!" Rosalie yelled, struggling in her brother's grasp. "He needs me. Let me go!"

Many things started happening at once. The fight, as far as Edward could tell, was over. He could hear, in the multitude of thoughts around him, that they had won. There had been casualties though. Two of the Knights and three of his guildmates were lost. Many were injured though, none as gravely as Emmett.

Seth arrived with the wagon that had been cleared of all the extra weapons and armor. No sooner had the boy dismounted than Garrett sent him ahead by horse to the Marks' farm with instructions to clear their kitchen table, gather supplies like clean rags and set as many pots of water to boil as possible.

Considerably calmer, Rosalie could not be dissuaded from going with Emmett in the wagon. She sat, out Carlisle and Garrett's way, with Emmett's head on her lap, stroking his sweaty forehead. Emmett's eyes never left hers. He was struggling again, this time trying to talk, though he kept on coughing up blood instead. He swallowed several times to clear his throat, grimacing at the feel of the thick blood going down to his stomach. "I'm fine Rosie," he whispered. "Just a scratch." He barely got the last word out before he was choking again, the coughs shaking his massive frame.

"Shh," Rosalie quieted him. "Sweetheart, look at me. You don't have to be strong. You yell, scream, cry…whatever you need to do. Don't you worry about me Emmett Cullen. You will put everything you have into surviving this. Let me be the strong for you."

He held her loving gaze for several long moments as the wagon began moving. _My angel. Hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you. _

"Does he have to be conscious, Carlisle?" Rosalie asked without looking away from Emmett's face. Her voice did not betray the distress that plagued her thoughts. Her eyes only reflected love and strength as she gazed down at her husband. She would have given anything to be in Emmett's place in that moment. She would have been glad to bear the pain if it meant that he would never have to.

Carlisle looked at Garrett who shook his head. "Do you have something that will keep him out for long enough, though? If he wakes up in the middle of…," Carlisle trailed off, the image of his son cut open and in even more pain than he was already was briefly too much for him.

Rosalie nodded her understanding. She directed her next words at Emmett as she took a few vials out of satchel at her side. "I'm going to let you sleep so you won't have to feel anymore," she told him softly. "The pain will go away and when you wake up, I'm going to be right there." She mixed the contents of the vials she held, the liquid inside of them turning a deep shade of blue. She helped him support his head as she tilted the vial down his throat. He gagged at the taste of the potion mixing with the blood in his mouth and Rosalie stroked the skin of his neck soothingly.

As his latest coughing attack had subsided, Emmett's body seemed to relax, more still now than it had been since the attack. His eyes closed slowly, holding Rosalie's gaze until the very last second. Then his body was completely still.

"He said that he loves you, and he's sorry," Edward said quietly as his brother's thoughts faded away.

Letting the façade of strength waver for a moment, Rosalie whimpered. She tried to hold it back but a muffled sob escaped her. Then she shook it off, her face becoming fierce. "You have nothing to be sorry about, darling," she whispered to Emmett's sleeping form. "Just fight. Fight and come back to me."

The half mile or so to the Marks' farm seemed to take an eternity, but eventually they were there. Emmett looked worse than ever. His face was almost as sickly pale as the undead monsters they had been fighting earlier. His cheeks were sunken and his breath was labored and raspy. Between the four of them and young Seth, they carried Emmett into the kitchen, laying him on the long table. Edward heard Sir Marks' wife order their two boys back to their rooms, trying to keep them away from the images that would no doubt terrify them.

"Rosalie, if you're going to stay, you need to keep out of the way, no matter what happens," Garrett said, gently but firmly as he began retrieving the tools he needed from his pack. Rosalie looked somewhat green at the sight of the various knives and scalpels he was laying out. She set her mouth in a firm line and nodded her understanding. With one final caress to Emmett's check she dragged one of the room's chairs to a far corner.

There was a lot of damage to fix, even with the middle wound completely closed and healed now. As Carlisle had suspected, the lower wound had perforated Emmett's stomach. The upper wound was by far the worse because it had cracked Emmett's ribs. The cracked ribs had led to a pierced and collapsed lung.

Carlisle's magic supplemented Garrett's lack of proper tools. He was able to coax Emmett's body to replenish the blood he was losing at a faster rate, keeping him from bleeding to death as they worked. He similarly used his gift to encourage Emmett's body to fight off any infection, boosting his immune system. His healing words would be able to close Emmett's internal wounds once he was able to see them.

That was where Garrett came in. He was skilled in surgery of all types. He had to open Emmett's wounds further to expose the internal damage without causing any further damage.

Since his gift allowed him to hear Carlisle and Garrett's needs instantly, Edward stayed in the room to provide whatever assistance they needed. He fetched clean towels, brought any tool they needed – anything he could do to help.

Someone must have gone to retrieve Esme because, at some point, as the long afternoon bled into evening, she came rushing into the house. Her thoughts were utterly panicked. Seth, a tall, broad lad who dwarfed Esme's small frame, was not enough to keep hold her back from her son. But when she saw him, unconscious and exposed, her legs had collapsed beneath her. She sunk to the floor, one hand pressed tightly over her mouth to muffle the strangled scream of horror.

Edward longed to go to his mother, and he could hear Carlisle's similar wish, but they were both preoccupied at the moment, helping Garrett. Instead, it was Rosalie who ran to Esme, both wanting to comfort her and desperately needing to be comforted. The two women rocked each other, watching with equal amounts fear and hope. They murmured encouragements to each other and to Emmett. Together they prayed to any and all gods that might listen.

As evening became full on night, Carlisle and Garrett didn't need Edward's assistance as much. They'd stopped the bleeding completely and now worked on stabilizing Emmett, making sure all of his organs would work properly and the acid that had leaked from his stomach into his blood stream had not poisoned his system. He was far from out of the woods, but there was nothing Edward could do.

Edward was bad with helplessness.

At his father's silent urging, he stumbled outside to clean up. He looked down at himself and realized that he looked like a walking nightmare. His hands and arms were covered and caked with blood. His shirt looked like he might have spent the day slaughtering calves. He ripped his shirt over his head, flinging it to the ground, but that was impossibly worse. His torso was stained red.

It was all Emmett's blood.

Edward began to shake uncontrollably as the terror he had fought back for so many hours washed over him all at once. He tried to remind himself that Emmett was on the mend. Things had been uncertain at first, but they hadn't had any complications in closing all of Emmett's wounds. He was going to be fine, Edward was sure of it. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he tried to regain control of his spiraling emotions.

He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder.

Edward turned to find Sir Marks behind him. The older man was offering him a flask. "It'll help," he said simply.

Nodding his thanks, Edward took the flask and put it to his lips. His hands were trembling so badly he got more liquid outside of his mouth than in it. The alcohol tasted familiar and oddly soothing as it burned a path down his throat. As the warmth spread through his belly it brought with it a semblance of calm, snuffing the worst of the fear he felt.

When he handed it back, Sir Marks took a swig of his own. Edward could see the older man was slightly unsteady on his feet. He had comrades of his own to mourn tonight. He pointed out a wash basin where Edward could clean up and brought out one of his old shirts to replace Edward's ruined one.

Cleaner and calmer, Edward went back into the house. Alice and Jasper were in the sitting room, ignoring the comfortable looking sofa in favor of sitting against the wall. Edward didn't hesitate; he just slid down beside Alice. Jasper was leaning with his forehead against the top of her head. He was completely wrapped around her, humming softly. His voice did not project his gift as well as instruments did, but he was trying to be respectful of the sleeping Marks children.

As the day had worn on Alice had been concentrating on her brother's future. As a result she had been subjected to visions of his death over and over again. His condition had been so precarious that the future vacillated continuously. Jasper had held her and tried his best to comfort her with his voice, sending waves of soothing tranquility to her.

Having caught many of her visions as he helped his father and Garrett, Edward knew exactly what she had seen. The images of his brother's lifeless body would plague his nightmares for years, he knew. He found his sister's hands on her lap and squeezed them tightly.

Craning her head so that she still rested on Jasper's neck but she could look at Edward, Alice opened her eyes slowly. "I don't see him dying as often," she said in a voice so small that Edward almost didn't hear her. She sighed, and shuddered. "I think he's getting better."

The three sat in silence for another minute before Alice spoke again. "It was worse when it was you, you know," she said matter-of-factly.

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, not sure what she was talking about. Then her memories became clear in her thoughts.

When he was 17, Edward had very suddenly contracted a horrible illness. He had stumbled inside one day and simply collapsed in the entry hall. Alice, 15 at the time and utterly terrified, had not been allowed to see him for fear that she would fall ill as well. For four days she had watched through her visions as Edward had burned, mumbling incoherently and thrashing without ever truly waking. For four days she had been subjected to vision after vision of Edward's shallow breaths stopping altogether.

This had not been as bad because, though infinitely more violent, she had only suffered these visions for a single day. In addition, she had been just a girl then; sheltered, as much as was possible, from the life of battle that her father lived. Edward, her own brother and closest companion at that time, was the first person she'd ever seen near death.

"Emmett only ever left my side to check on you," Alice whispered wistfully, remembering how Emmett had comforted her during the worst of her visions. How he'd told her stories to distract her and had even managed to make her laugh a few times.

Not knowing what to say, Edward squeezed her hands again; a reminder that he was still there and, with any luck, Emmett wasn't going anywhere either. Alice yawned as another vision hit her. In this one the light streamed in the curtained windows of an unfamiliar room. Emmett lay in the bed, sleeping. Rosalie sat by his bedside on one side, Esme and Carlisle on the other. Rosalie and Esme were each holding one of his hands. Slowly, Emmett's eyes opened.

"He's going to be okay," Alice mumbled sleepily, relief evident in her voice. She yawned again, nestling against Jasper. "He's going to be okay," she repeated as she gave in to the exhaustion that had been pulling at her for hours now.

As her body went slack against him, Jasper stopped humming. He stroked her hair gently, testing for any reaction, but she was solidly asleep. He sighed in relief. As much as he had worried about Emmett it had been almost physically painful to watch Alice suffer, her tiny body shaking as visions of her brother's death assaulted her. It had been such a long day – and she had seen so much more death and bloodshed than any of the rest of them had. "I don't know how she does this," he said softly, catching Edward's eyes over Alice's head. "She's seen such horrible things. She's witnessed both of her brothers dying. And with the battle…" he trailed off.

"She told me once that everyone knows what _could_ happen, she's just the one lucky enough to see it more detail," Edward replied wryly. "Alice is a very strong woman."

"How do you handle it?" Jasper asked, knowing full well that, most times, Edward lived Alice's visions right along with her.

Edward scoffed lightly. "I don't know that I handle it at all, really. I just try my best to stop the bad ones."

Having seen the vision of Emmett, still breathing and relatively whole, and hearing Carlisle and Garrett's assessments as they closed the last of their incisions, Edward allowed himself to release a measure of his anxiety for his brother. Exhaustion hit him like a sledgehammer almost instantaneously.

He thought about all the things he had seen, not only in Alice's visions but in his years out in the field with his family and guildmates. News had reached them, at some point during the afternoon and long night, that they had lost three of their number – an older warrior named Amun, his daughter-in-law, a gifted young mage named Tia, and a fighter named Randall- and the Knights had lost two of theirs – Sir Tyler and Sir Conner, both far too young to have died the way they did. They were all people that Edward had known, had associated with.

Yet, Edward knew that he could survive their loss just as he had survived losing friends and allies before. He knew, if he had been forced to, he could have endured even losing his brother. There was only one person whose loss he would not have been able to recover from.

Edward let thoughts of Bella envelop him as closed his eyes and let sleep take him. He let himself imagine being able to wrap his arms around her again. Early this morning he had had to leave her behind, unable to erase the fear and uncertainty that had been plain on her face. He had promised he would come for her as soon as the fighting was over, and he had hated breaking that promise. By now word had surely reached her of Emmett's injuries. She would understand that it was important for him to help his brother.

Somewhere in the far corner of his thoughts, his mind registered that it was strange Bella had not come to him, but by then his body had succumbed to a dreamless sleep.

Several hours later, Edward woke to his worst nightmare come to life. He had been startled awake by Alice's strangled cry. His eyes shot open. He took in the scene automatically, trying to figure out what was wrong. Alice stood with one arm braced in Jasper's firm grip, her face white and her body trembling. For the second time in as many very early mornings, Jasper tried futilely to shake her out of her vision.

"I didn't see. I wasn't watching!" she gasped, her eyes blank.

Edward processed the vision as it hit her. One of the Knights, Sir Eric, was en route to the Marks' farm. He was bringing a message for Carlisle from Sir Swan: a request for help. "Oh, no. No, no, no," Edward chanted, horrified and furious as the same time as he heard Eric's message in Alice's visions.

He was on his feet and out the door before anyone had the chance to ask what was happening. Alice only stayed long enough to mumble the explanation to Jasper before she took off after Edward, leaving a wide eyed Jasper behind her to explain the situation to the rest.

"Sir Eric is coming to speak to Carlisle. Bella and Angela are missing," she had said.

***

Meanwhile, more than half a day's ride away from Forkshire

It was well past midnight when James and Victoria finally brought their horses to a stop for the night. Bella was more tired than she could ever remember being. Her body ached from her hairline to her toes. Even her mind felt worn from the constant trepidation over the situation she found herself in. She could find no sense in it at all.

When they had eaten, Victoria told James she was going to double back to the river they'd passed a half mile to refill their canteens. Thought Victoria seemed just as dangerous as James, it made Bella infinitely more uncomfortable to be alone with him. Once Victoria had gone, James' relaxed look became closer to a sneer.

Bella had her arms around Angela's trembling shoulders as they both watched James to see what he would do. He stood and dropped his pack in front of the two girls. Never taking his eyes off them, he pulled several lengths of rope from his bag. Bella felt her heart begin to race and her stomach threatened to expel the little bit of food and water she had just choked down. She heard Angela whimper beside her. She hugged the other girl close, wracking her mind to figure out any possible way she could keep James from hurting Angela, if that was his intent.

James seemed to be enjoying their obvious fear. The smirk on his face was both infuriating and terrifying. He stood over them both, causing Angela to give a frightened shriek. Bella held her tighter, glaring up at James. He sneered back at her, a flicker of irritation passing through his eyes as he reached down to grab her by the arm. Bella clenched her teeth to keep from crying out when he yanked her to her feet. He propelled her backward against a slim tree and pushed her to a sitting position. She wasn't struggling at all, but James didn't seem to notice as he yanked her arms behind her, tying them at her wrists behind the tree.

Bella hadn't made a sound, unwilling to give James any kind of satisfaction. Angela was different. She couldn't help but scream as James yanked her to her feet. It was too much and Angela was too terrified. "Please, don't hurt us," Angela begged as he dragged her to another slim tree close by. James only laughed at her, throwing her down at his feet.

As he similarly bound Angela's arms behind her back, Bella could tell he was being rougher with her than he needed to be. Her anger was starting to overwhelm her fear and her sense of self preservation. She had held her tongue all day long, not wanting to upset him and make this situation worse for Angela and herself. Seeing Angela cowering in fear and hearing her scream in pain snapped something in Bella. "Leave her alone!" she hollered at James, kicking dirt at the back of his head.

James was over to her in a heartbeat, his face twisted in a sneer as he crouched by her side. He grabbed her chin, squeezing it tightly as he had before. "You are in no position to give anyone orders, little one."

Bella swallowed, her throat still painfully bruised from when James had choked her earlier that day. She looked him right in the eye as she spoke. "It's me you came for, right? Just let her go. She has nothing to do with whatever it is you want."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" James scoffed at her, letting go of her chin. "I know your type. The only thing that's keeping you from being a pain in my ass is the fact you know what I'll do to her."

He moved so suddenly this time that Bella did not have time to brace herself. She shrieked in surprise and pain when he suddenly reached out and gripped a fistful of her hair, bending her head back slightly to be sure he had her attention. "Let me make sure one thing is crystal clear to you Bella Swan. You might be clever enough to get away from me but you better understand one thing. I can and will find you, no matter where you run. It's a gift of mine – finding people, and I never fail," he emphasized each of his statements by shaking the fist he had wound around his hair, sending waves of pain and dizziness down Bella's scalp.

"If you run from me, when I find you, I'm going to make you watch me tear your little friend apart." He leaned down so his nose brushed against her cheek. "When I'm done with her, I'm going to take the price of any inconvenience you cause me out on your body." He held her like that, tugging on her hair again to make sure he had gotten his point across. Bella sucked in a breath and said nothing. Satisfied, James let her go. He strode over to where the horses were tied and began loosening the bed rolls he kept attached to their saddles.

"Who are you working for?" Bella asked, her voice not angry or fearful, but completely controlled and level.

James turned to her, somewhat incredulous. He let out a short laugh. "You really are thick, aren't you girl?"

"You're not going to hurt me," Bella retorted, trying to sound more sure than she was. "I'm a bounty for you, right? Or else Victoria wouldn't have stopped you from killing me earlier."

"It's going to take us two weeks or more to get where we're going. I can do whatever I want with you as long as I don't damage you permanently, a prospect you're making look more and more tempting," James punctuated his words by throwing his bed roll on the ground. "At this point I might change my mind and sell you to the slavers. They won't pay as well, but at least I'd be rid of you quicker. Between having to consort with the undead and putting up with you, the payment is starting to look too small as it is."

Bella's eyes went wide at his words. It had seemed like too big a coincidence that James had come for her on the same day that there was a huge, unexpected army marching for Forkshire, but she hadn't been able to see a connection. "It was you," she whispered. "You were the one that brought the undead? Why?"

Hearing the sickened tone in her voice, James looked over at her and snickered. "Those were my instructions. Get you, but I had to do something to distract the guild in town, particularly the fortune teller. There's not a lot that's more distracting than a horde of angry undead monsters, now is there?"

Bella's head spun. Angela was staring at her with horror and grief in her expression. James had put their entire town in danger to get to her. For all she knew Angela's love could have been killed in the battle. For all she knew her father, or Alice, or Jasper, or Emmett or Ed-.

A rage Bella had never felt before overtook her. It spread like an inferno in her body, threatening to spill out of her and consume her whole. She didn't even realize she had been tugging frantically at the rope that bound her until she felt it tear into her skin. At this point the pain was welcome; a distraction from the fury that threatened to drive her into hysteria.

Worse than the terrible rage, anguish hit Bella with such a force she could hardly breathe. She could not accept that her family might be dead because of her. The idea was so unfathomable that it shook her to her very core. It was all she could do to keep from screaming. As it was she could not stop the two tears that streamed from the corners of her eyes. She shook her head with a frustrated growl. She had promised herself that James would never see her cry.

She had to believe that her family had survived; that Edward had survived, or she would not be able to function. She needed answers as to why this was happening. She doubted James knew anything. He seemed to be little more than a glorified errand boy.

Nothing made sense.

Bella forced herself to calm down. As she tempered the anger and anxiety she felt, she was overtaken by the weariness. Her body ached and screamed at her for sleep. Knowing there was nothing she could do tonight, she let sleep claim her.

**A/N – Okay, for the record, I flipping HATE writing Emmett's pain. Blargh. Glad THAT'S over.**

**Also – James is a grade A jerk face.**

**So, let me know your thoughts, yes? Does this flipping from what's going on with Edward to what's going on with Bella make sense? Does the timeline get confusing? I need to know these things!**


	8. Frustration and Fear

**Chapter 8 – Frustration and Fear**

**A/N: There's a bit of fluff tucked in here. See if you can find it. :-p**

**Disclaimer: If I were Stephenie Meyer, I totes would have gotten the steak instead of the veggie platter in my cameo. Twilight and all its beautiful characters are hers.**

It didn't take Alice long to catch up to Edward. They both pushed their horses toward Forkshire at the fastest gallop, opting to pass by Sir Eric to get to the source. Her horse knew the way back home, and so Alice concentrated on Bella, trying to see her future.

There were flickering images, but nothing concrete. Alice glimpsed a blond haired man with a menacing glare and a red-headed woman with a cruel smile. She caught a few still moments of Angela Weber's. The poor girl looked frightened to death and frequently teary-eyed. She saw Bella, always looking defiant or angry.

She heard Edward let out a noise that was half growl, half pained cry and realized that Bella's throat in her visions was severely bruised, and her arms bore shallow scrapes here and there. Whoever had her had already hurt her. Alice's heart twisted. She hated that her friend – her sister – was in danger and she hadn't been able to stop it. "Do you recognize them at all?" Alice asked, shouting over the pounding of the horse's hooves as they whipped through the forest.

"I feel like I've seen them, but I can't be sure," Edward yelled back. Alice could hear the frustration in his voice. "Can you tell where they are? Can you concentrate on their location?"

Try as she might, Alice could not get a clear visual on anything. They were in the forest, but the forest around Forkshire extended for many miles. The scenes kept flipping. The situation must be extremely volatile then.

It wasn't yet dawn when they got back to Forkshire. They rode straight to Bella's bakery. The light from the flickering lamps and lanterns inside cast strange and eerie shadows on the window, an appropriate setting given the situation.

Edward was off his horse before he had even brought the animal to a complete stop. Inside the bakery he found Sir Charles and a couple of his Knights. A cursory look around the small space and Edward felt the knot of dread that had been forming in his stomach tighten.

The smell of burnt baked goods filled the air. The space beside the counter was covered in shattered glass. Even in the dim light the lanterns gave off he could tell there was blood on the floor. Not much, but the likelihood, from what he had seen in Alice's fleeting visions, was that it was Bella's.

Seeing Charles striding toward him from the back room, Edward took several breaths to calm the overwhelming feelings of rage and dismay that were stirring in him like a tempest. He felt close to some sort of mental brink, equally torn between whether he was going to break down sobbing under the weight of his despair or burst into flames with the force of his anger.

"What's happened?" Edward asked at the same time Sir Charles said "Do you know where Bella is?"

Edward shook his head, "No, I don't know where she is. I didn't know until you sent your Knight to find Carlisle that she was even missing."

Surprised, Sir Charles turned to Alice. "You didn't see this?"

"I'm so sorry, Charles," Alice said, her mouth turned down and her eyes full of regret. "I was concentrating so hard on the battle…and then my brother. I didn't see anything that was happening here."

It took Charles a moment to process her comment about her brother since Edward was standing right there. Then he closed his eyes briefly. "I'm sorry. I'm not thinking clearly. Is Emmett alright?"

"When we left he was still asleep but all indication is that, though I don't envy him the recovery, he will be fine, eventually," Alice assured him.

"You haven't been able to see Bella at all in your visions?" Charles asked. There was a frantic edge to his voice as he spoke.

"She's alive," Edward said, as much to reassure himself as Charles. "Alice has only seen vague visions, nothing concrete but she's alive."

Charles let out a breath he had been holding. "Is she hurt? And is Angela alright?"

"She's not severely injured, no," Alice answered. Edward's teeth gnashed together audibly and he visibly struggled to temper the furor Alice's memory caused. "And Angela is completely fine, as far as I can see, just frightened."

Another vision flashed through Alice's mind. It was a still image. The blond haired man had Bella by the arm. For the first time the expression on her face was dismayed instead of defiant. Again, Edward gritted his teeth. He gave a description of the blond man and the red headed woman to the gathered Knights. His frustration doubled when none of the people that flickered through their minds matched Alice's vision. He looked to Charles, "What happened? Please, tell me anything you know."

For a moment Charles' face was openly tormented. "It was almost nightfall when we got back to town. We had some injuries, and of course Sir Tyler and Sir Conner had to be laid in state at the castle. I went to their homes to pay respect to their families. I didn't think to check on Bella. I thought she was safe." Though he spoke the words evenly enough, Edward could hear the self-recrimination and grief in his thoughts. Edward hung his own head in agony. How could someone have taken her without him knowing it?

"Then Father Weber came and found me. I thought at first he was there about Sir Tyler and Sir Conner, but he said that it was late and Angela had never come home from the bakery. He said that he'd come and found this," Charles gestured at the mess around them.

Edward ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "They could have been gone for minutes or hours," he muttered, mostly to himself.

"Minutes isn't likely," Charles responded. He nodded at the big clay oven where the smoldering remains of something that might have once been cake still remained. "Father Weber said the bread was already burnt almost to ash when he got here."

"Pound cake," Edward corrected absently, recognizing the ingredients that lay out and half mixed in bowls on the counter.

He imagined her here, as he had seen her so many times. Her hair up in a messy bun. Her face smudged with flour or frosting or chocolate. And for just a moment he could picture her, stirring the batter. He could see perfectly how she would turn and her face would light up like it always did when she saw him. The warm chocolate brown of her eyes would come to life and she would run to him and throw herself into his arms.

"You came back for me," she whispered in his imagination.

"I promised," he whispered back, so softly that his words were inaudible.

Here in her bakery, he could almost smell her unique sent – sweetness and rising bread, but it was tainted by the acerbic smell of the burnt cake, effectively breaking the momentary spell he was under. His lost eyes found Alice. "She told Emmett she'd make him pound cake if he was home in time for dinner."

"Edward," Alice whispered back, as if she wanted to comfort him, but there was nothing she could say. Just like her brother and Sir Charles, she was going over and over in her head how she could have missed something like this.

As Edward forced the vision from his mind, he took in the thoughts around him. Close to the bakery he could hear Carlisle and Jasper's familiar minds approaching, along with Sir Eric. A thought crossed his mind as he looked around. "Where are Sir Ben and Father Weber? It surprises me that they're not here."

"Ben went to rouse Jessica and Lauren. He said they're always around the square and they must have seen something. Father Weber said it would not do his daughter any good to neglect his duties. He has been between the castle and your guildhall, saying prayers over the dead and counseling the bereaved," Charles said grimly. He glanced up as Carlisle and Jasper entered the bakery.

Charles went to greet Carlisle and Edward started to pace the length of the bakery. He was trying to put the few pieces he had together in his mind. Nothing fit.

Jasper came up beside Alice and wrapped his arms around her, watching Edward warily. Jasper's gift had left him so in tune with other people's emotions; he could usually tell what someone was feeling. He could tell that Edward was a wreck. His face and body were tensed like a mountain lion in a cage. There was a wild note to gait, like he was milliseconds away from springing. The look on his face was terrified, violent, anxious and frustrated all at once.

"I don't understand any of this, Carlisle," Charles was saying. "Why would anyone want to take either of them? Unless-," but he couldn't continue. In his head he was recounting stories he'd heard of women and girls sold into slavery – or worse.

Edward shuddered, the very thought of someone touching Bella in that way sending a spike of anger through him so powerful he shook with the urge to strike something. "I don't think that's what's happening here," he said quickly, as much to sooth his own nerves as Charles'.

"You think some scum wouldn't take advantage of all of us being gone? If someone were going to do it, it was the perfect time to prey on two helpless girls."

"Your daughter is far from helpless," Jasper inserted. "It looks like she put up one hell of a fight."

"I think the timing of the battle is too coincidental," Edward continued as if Jasper hadn't spoken. After all, helpless or not, the result was the same. Bella was gone. "There was no reason for the undead to attack the town– but what if they were meant as a distraction?"

Charles looked at Edward, skeptical to say the least. "You think someone would incite a horde of the undead just to come after Bella and Angela? Who would do that?"

It was Carlisle that Edward looked at. "This is just the sort of thing Aro would do."

Edward could hear the thoughts in the room, ranging from shock to incredulity. Carlisle, however, was not surprised. Nor was Alice, of course. Both had thought of this possibility beforehand. "We cannot make that assumption at this point, Edward," he said softly. "Sir Charles is right. With all of us gone the town was vulnerable. It wouldn't have taken a mastermind the likes of Aro to take advantage of that."

"I think I would have seen if Aro was behind this," Alice added. _You know I've been watching him, Edward, _she added mentally.

"I don't understand," Charles said through gritted teeth. "Why would your grandfather want my daughter?"

"To get to me," Edward said heavily. He knew it wasn't an adequate explanation, and he owed Bella's father more than that, but at the moment he simply didn't have the patience. Every second Bella got further and further away from him. His body ached with the desire for some kind of action. Anything but just sitting here while Bella was in danger, and quite possibly suffering.

Reading the impatience and irritation on his brother's face, Jasper put a steadying hand on Edward's shoulder. "If we assume and run off in one direction when she's been taken in another … it would just take us that much longer to get to her."

"I know that," Edward snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose and willing himself to calm down. The helplessness he felt was overwhelming and the rage impotent with nothing to direct it at.

Ben arrived not long after with Jessica and Lauren in tow. From their accounts and their memories, they were able to piece together that the blond man and red headed woman had left the shop right around midday with two cloaked figures in tow. They had headed to the east but that meant little. East was the closest exit from the bakery. They could have gone anywhere from there.

Morning became midday and midday became noon. Still, there was no other hint, no further clue as to where the girls had been taken and why. Alice's visions continued to flicker. Bella and Angela cuddled together, Bella's arms protective around the other girl. The sneering face of the blond man, twisted in annoyance. The four riding through the forest, Angela with the red head and Bella in front of the man. But their location was always indiscriminate forest. Edward had seen so much of the countryside in his travels but he saw no telltale sign of what direction they had headed in.

With no one left to question and no stone unturned in the town, Edward, Alice, Jasper and Carlisle had headed toward the guildhall. Evening was falling, and they knew that sometime during the day Emmett had been moved home. At the very least, seeing his brother alive would replace Edward's final images of Emmett's unnaturally pale, still form; one less torture to endure through this nightmare.

Throughout the day, Edward had kept his mind open; scanning the thoughts of those around him as far as his gift would stretch. Now, as they approached the guildhall, he could hear the heavy thoughts of his grieving guildmates. He could see Amun, Tia and Randall's bodies had been cleaned and now lay in the dining hall – the only place large enough to accommodate the entire guild and then some.

Distinctly separate and misplaced in the sorrowful scene were Irina's thoughts. They were joyful, pleased, surprised. _Laurent, oh I've missed you. _Edward could see through her eyes as she threw herself into the arms of a dark skinned man who Edward knew he had never met but could have sworn he had seen before. "What are you doing here?"

Wary and suspicious of any stranger, Edward switched into Laurent's mind and his blood immediately ran cold.

Laurent's memories held the nameless faces that had plagued and infuriated Edward all day long. He was remembering sitting around the campfire, watching the blond wrap his arms playfully around the woman's waist. They were his companions. They had been his friends.

The rage that had been bubbling inside of him finally boiled over, and Edward didn't think. He jumped from his horse and ran across the lawn so fast he was almost a blur. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through him as he burst into the entry hall, yanking Laurent from Irina's hug and propelling him backward against the wall. "Where is she?!" he growled, his voice frenzied.

"Edward!" Irina exclaimed, her hand on Edward's shoulder trying to pull him back.

Edward could not be moved, he shrugged Irina off as he lifted Laurent's body away from the wall and slammed him back again. "Tell me where she is!"

"What are you doing?!" Irina shrieked at him. "Edward, let him go."

Edward forced himself to take a deep breath but did not step away from the stranger. Laurent's thoughts were confused and more than a little afraid. "The man and woman who have Bella and Angela – they're in his thoughts," Edward said through gritted teeth. "The blond and the red head. Who are they?! What do they want with Bella?!" With each question he shook Laurent.

Jasper, Alice and Carlisle caught up with him then and the entry hall became very crowded. Carlisle and Jasper each grasped one of Edward's rigid shoulder's trying to pull him away from wide-eyed stranger. Drawn by her son's yelling, Esme was descending the stairs having been with Emmett in his room. Tanya, Katrina and Carmen had similarly been drawn in by Irina's angry screaming.

"Edward, step away from him," Carlisle commanded. His voice was understanding but firm. He punctuated his request by tugging gently at Edward's shoulders, not wanting to have to force his son away from the stranger.

"He's obviously not going anywhere, Edward. Calm down," Jasper added, giving Edward's other shoulder an assuring squeeze. He silently communicated his own furor. If this stranger had anything to do with Bella's abduction he would pay.

It took all of what little self control Edward had left to let Laurent go. As soon as he had stepped away from the man, Irina stepped in, wrapping a comforting arm around Laurent's waist as she glared at Edward. He finally noticed that it wasn't only Laurent who was thinking of the other two – but Irina was remembering them as well. He turned toward the woman he considered a cousin, "You know them?" he demanded.

"I assume you're talking about James and Victoria? I met them when I met Laurent a few months ago," Irina said, still confused and angry, but it was beginning to dawn on her why Edward was acting so violently toward Laurent. She knew well enough what James and Victoria did. "They have your Bella," she guessed.

Edward nodded once, turning his glare back at Laurent. His fingers flexed into fists at his side. "Why? What could they possibly want with her?"

"I wouldn't have the faintest idea why they would be here, let alone what or who they came for," Laurent finally spoke, anger creeping into his voice. He didn't understand why he was being attacked or exactly what it was Edward was accusing him off. Half of the people gathered were glaring at him, and all of them were looking at him expectantly.

It was Carlisle who spoke, his voice calm but with a hard edge that demanded answers. "Two of the girls in the village were kidnapped yesterday. My daughter, Alice, can catch glimpses of the future. She's seen your…friends with Bella and Angela. I think it would be best if you tell us what you know, now."

Understanding lit Laurent's face and his thoughts lost some of their anger. "I wouldn't call them my friends, but we were travelling companions, up until almost two weeks ago."

He proceeded to tell them everything he knew from James' mysterious meeting with Lady Jane to the odd way he had reacted before abandoning Laurent in the forest.

"That would explain why I didn't see an order from Aro. Jane must be acting separately. I never dreamed we had anything to worry about in her," Alice mumbled.

"It also explains why you aren't seeing anything concrete. James knows to make as few decisions as possible. He's trying to keep you in the dark as much as possible," Edward seethed. Without another word he spun on his heel heading for the door.

"Edward," Carlisle was in front of him before he could get all the way outside. "Son, where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" Edward's voice was harsher than he wanted it to be with his father, but he was reaching the end of his patience. He needed Bella back, safe in his arms, like he needed his next breath of air.

"You need sleep, and when was the last time you had something to eat?" Carlisle pressed.

"I need Bella," Edward retorted, trying to move past his father. By then his mother, sister and Jasper had joined them in front of the guild hall and it was Jasper who stopped him this time.

"Think this through, Edward," he started.

"What is there to think about?!" Edward could no longer keep his voice steady. "He has a day and a half head start as it is and you want me to sleep? I can't stay here, warm and comfortable in my bed when he's out there doing gods know what to her, taking her to Aro's psychotic wife who wants gods know what with her. How could you even think to ask it of me?"

Jasper glanced at Alice, his eyes tightening as he considered, not for the first time that day, being in Edward's position. "I'm not going to even pretend that I can understand how you're feeling right now, Edward, but you need to have a clear head with this. If you run off half-cocked you're not going to be able to help her. Carlisle's right. You need sleep, and food and supplies for pity's sake. You need a plan. You're only human. If you run out of here now the only thing you're going to accomplish is running yourself into the ground."

With an almost inhuman bellow Edward drove his fist into the front door of the guild hall, splintering his own knuckles more than the heavy wood. He welcomed the pain that exploded through his hand and arm. It felt so much better than the torment of his combined helplessness, terror and rage that he drove his other fist into the wood. He scarcely heard his mother cry out to him to stop. He kept pummeling the door with all of his strength. He would have continued until he made pulp of the wood or, more likely, his own fists, but Jasper and Carlisle stopped him, wrestling him away from innocent door.

The adrenaline that had fueled him since he had seen James and Victoria in Laurent's thoughts left him and Edward slumped against his brother and father, suddenly unsteady. The truth of their words was unavoidable. He was running on fumes, having not really slept in 3 nights and not really eaten in 2 days. For the first time that day he acknowledged the pain in his empty stomach; almost as sharp and intense as the lacerations on his pulverized hands. His body suddenly screamed with wariness borne of two days of confusion, battle, his brother's blood on his hands and Bella's disappearance.

Conceding, Edward slid down the front of the hall, trying to flex his fingers. He hissed at the pain that shot through his hand. With a sigh, Carlisle knelt in front of his son, taking his right hand and examining the self inflected damage. He said a few words over the torn knuckles; first knitting Edward's broken bones back together before closing the open wounds. Edward almost asked him not to. After seeing Emmett almost literally ripped apart and knowing Bella was somewhere, James' finger marks painting the skin on her neck and who only knew where else, it felt almost criminal for him to have escaped unscathed.

Then again, the pain of the wounds he'd inflicted on himself was nothing to the utter torment that wracked his heart and mind. It felt as if the space that Bella occupied inside him, every part of him that was hers and hers alone, had been ripped out of him by force the moment he'd heard Sir Eric's words in Alice's vision. The hollow emptiness she'd left behind did not echo. It bled around the ragged edges, expanding, torturously slowly. He knew it would consume him and kill him eventually, if he could never hold her again.

Edward had to push that thought away, unable to cope with the mere possibility. It would not happen. He would get her back.

After Carlisle had fixed his hands, Esme and Alice coaxed him inside. Most of the guild was in the dining hall with their fallen comrades so the common room was deserted. The family settled down to plan, Esme placing a plate of meat and vegetables in Edward's lap. Edward forced himself to eat. The food tasted like dirt in his mouth but he knew he needed the fuel, the energy it would provide.

As he ate he struggled to push back the memories of Bella in this room. He was sitting in the same place he had been when they'd shared their first kisses.

Thankfully, Alice started talking before despair could pull him under or send him flying off the couch, intent on getting to Volterra.

"I don't know that it matters that we know where they're going," Alice said, grimacing at the vague visions that passed through her head. "They're still taking a completely obscure route."

"We can meet them in Volterra, then," Carlisle reasoned. "If we go directly, we would likely get there before them."

"I should come with you," Esme said quietly. Every head in the room looked to her with wide eyes. Esme was the only one among them who was not a fighter. She was looking at Carlisle, reading the fear for her in his surprised eyes. When she spoke it was only to him. "If Alice's vision comes to pass.… Aro is my father. I won't let him near our children, not if I can help it. It's bad enough if he gets a hold of Bella. If there is anyone he might listen to, it will be me."

"Mother-," Edward started to argue, but Esme cut him off.

"What would you do, Edward?" she asked, her eyes full of compassion for what she knew her son must be suffering. "If you can't get to her with your fists and your sword; if he asked you to trade your freedom, your life, for hers, what would you do?"

Edward considered lying, but his mother knew him well. He wouldn't even think twice. He'd acknowledged long ago, when Alice had first seen her horrible vision, that if his grandfather wanted him to do anything, all he had to do was threaten Bella. The fear of his nightmare coming to life had plagued him practically since he'd known Bella.

He couldn't answer and so he stayed quiet. Esme nodded. "Do you think he'd stop with you, my son? If he had you, he could manipulate Alice, and then Jasper, and Emmett and Rosalie and then your father. He'd have all of us." Fear laced her voice. "I won't let it happen. Not if I can do anything to help it."

Carlisle reached out, taking her hands in his, running his thumb over her knuckles comfortingly. "It makes sense. If we can't get to them first, it would be best for you to face him," he conceded, though Edward could hear in his thoughts his dread at his wife having to face her father. He sighed and looked to Alice and Edward. "I don't suppose I could persuade either of you to stay here and let someone else go after her?"

Alice and Edward both narrowed their eyes in tandem. "You need me," Alice protested. "How else will you be able to know what they're doing?"

Holding a hand up to stop the rant she was about to start in on, Carlisle sighed again. "I know." He eyed Edward and repeated firmly, "I _know_. It just seems like that's the aim of all of this. That's what Aro wants. Leading you both into the lion's den – it just feels wrong," he trailed off.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Jasper said, his eyebrows furrowed. "How does Aro or Jane know anything about Bella? How would they know enough to get to her?"

Behind them, someone cleared her throat. Irina, Laurent, Tanya and Katrina had entered the room unnoticed. Irina looked guilty. "I think I may be at fault, inadvertently," she admitted. In her mind, Edward saw her replaying the memory of meeting Aro – how he'd seemed so genuinely regretful that his grandchildren had been taken from him. She still didn't believe that Aro had anything to do with what was going on, but she couldn't deny that it was unlikely Aro would have ever learned about Bella if Irina hadn't been in Volterra months ago. If Aro hadn't known, it was even more unlikely Jane would have known about the girl – whatever her purpose was in obtaining her.

Sensing another tantrum from Edward, Alice reached out and grabbed her brother's hand. _She didn't do it on purpose. _Edward took several breaths, trying to calm down. It would help no one to lash out at his cousin.

"We want to come with you," Irina said quietly.

Carlisle shook his head quickly. "Not all of you. You'll leave Eleazar with too small a force."

"You're going too, Carlisle?" Jasper asked, picking up the context. Carlisle intended to leave the guild in his second-in-command's charge.

"Of course."

"I just didn't expect you would want to leave Emmett without all of his family while he recovers," Jasper explained.

Carlisle frowned. "I hate the idea of leaving Emmett behind, almost as much as I'm sure it will drive him mad to be left. But what choice do I have? I cannot leave you all with no healer, if it should come to a fight. And I can speak to Aro, should the need arise, as one leader to another."

"Who's going then?" Tanya asked.

In his mind, Carlisle was considering that it was a bad idea to let all of the Denali sisters come. They all worshipped Aro for what he had done to avenge their mother's murder. However, he couldn't deny the advantage Laurent would give them as a former traveling mate of James and Victoria. He might know their typical hideouts. "I think that it's best if you and Katrina stay with the guild," Carlisle finally answered Tanya. "Seven is more than an adequate riding party."

It was decided that they would ride at dawn, much to Edward's dismay. It seemed too much wasted time. Before he could protest, Rosalie came to the door of the common room, interrupting the argument. "Emmett's awake, and he's asking for you Edward."

Edward felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He had not seen his brother since he had left him on the makeshift operating table in the Marks' kitchen. Swallowing his restlessness, he followed Rosalie up to her and Emmett's room.

Emmett was lying in the middle of his and Rosalie's large bed with his eyes closed when Edward reached the door. His eyes opened slowly and he blinked in the dim light from the lantern that sat on his nightstand. He still looked too pale, too still. Emmett was never still. The movement of his head was lethargic as he followed Edward's progress from the door to the chair by the side of the bed. Breathing was still difficult and painful for him, so his breaths were shallow. He'd only been awake for 10 minutes at a time since opening his eyes very early that morning. His thoughts were hazy with whatever potion Rosalie was giving him to dull the pain.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner Emmett," Edward apologized as he sat.

Emmett thought about talking but quickly dismissed that idea. Trying to hold conversations with Rosalie and his mother earlier had been both frustrating and exhausting. Edward could read his mind and he was taking advantage of it.

_You have more important things on your mind little brother. I understand. If it was Rose… _His thought trailed off, the prospect of Rosalie being gone without a trace was too horrible to contemplate.

"You're still important to me, regardless," Edward said guiltily.

Emmett laughed weakly. _I know that, idiot. But I'm also safe. Borderline comatose and useless, but safe. _Edward could hear the irritation in Emmett's thoughts. Normally, Emmett took everything in stride but even he couldn't help but be discontent at his body's weakness. _You know I'd be out there in a heartbeat if I could._

Emmett's love for Bella, his fear for her safety and his fervent desire to punish those responsible were clear in his thoughts. "I know that," Edward assured him.

_Thank you for saving my life, Edward _Emmett opened his eyes as wide as he could so that Edward could see the sincerity of his words_. I'm sorry I'm not going to be there for you when you need me. You know your temper gets you into almost as much trouble as mine. Be safe. When you see my little sister, tell her that she owes me some pound cake._

Edward almost laughed, but his heart rattled painfully. The short conversation was as much as Emmett could handle. Already his thoughts were blurring; words and images running together. With a final squeeze to his shoulder, Edward left his brother to his rest.

Outside the door, Rosalie was waiting, eager to be back by Emmett's side. Before she went in she handed a slim vial to Edward. "It's a sleeping potion," she explained. "You need your rest and you know you're just going to drive yourself crazy if you try to sleep on your own."

"Rosalie, I don't-," Edward started to protest.

"Don't argue. I promise it's not enough to knock you out as long as you really need, just enough to give you energy. If you don't drink it, all that's going to happen is you're going to rob everyone else of sleep since they'll have to spend their night convincing you not to run off." Her eyes softened. "You're going to find her, Edward." _You deserve your happily ever after too, _she added silently.

"Will I dream?" Edward asked, his voice devoid of any emotion. He was too tired to fight his family anymore, but the idea of retreating to a sleep plagued with nightmares was more than he could handle at the moment.

Rosalie shook her head. "Go on. The sooner you go to sleep the sooner you can be on the road. I promise, I'll make sure that everything is ready for you to go first thing in the morning."

Alone in his room, Edward stared at the vial that promised a dreamless respite from the noise in his head. His own thoughts were torment enough, but he also heard the thoughts of his grieving guild mates. Benjamin and his mother Kebi mourning the loss of a father and husband; wife and daughter. Edward could pick out Charles' exhausted mind from the castle nearby as he spoke with Father Weber. Both of them were wracked with worry and love for their daughters.

Feeling the frustration, anger and fear begin to build to build to an unbearable level, Edward quickly threw back the contents of the vial. He was asleep in seconds, his mind mercifully blank.

***

Meanwhile, more than a day and a half's ride from Forkshire

Bella was sure she was dreaming. She knew it because the setting around her was familiar. It had happened before. It was a memory, coming to her as she slept fitfully.

It was a memory from just a few weeks previous. Spring had finally begun to chase away the chill of winter afternoons and Edward had taken her for a picnic in the rolling hills outside of the city. They were playing. She was running from him, her giggles filling the open space. She remembered the feeling. She was happy and in love – and for once there was no one around but the two of them, just enjoying one another.

Edward caught up to her easily, pouncing and wrapping his arms around her protectively as they tumbled to the ground. They wrestled playfully for a few moments, Edward eliciting a few squeals from her as they rolled in the grass. When they were both out of breath they lay together in easy quiet; Edward on his back with Bella cradled against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, working out tangles from their tussle with gentle, soothing tugs. Bella sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and listening to his heart beat.

"Bella?" he asked, interrupting the quiet.

"Hmmm?"

He was silent for so long that Bella would have thought he had fallen asleep except for one thing. His heart, below her ear, was hammering. He was nervous about something. "Edward, what is it?" she asked, concerned. She lifted her head from his chest so she could look him in the eye.

He lifted a hand, stroking her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. His eyes seemed to be searching hers for something. When he finally spoke his voice was soft. "If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?"

Bella blinked sporadically, trying to process the words. She didn't know what she had expected, but that was not it. She saw the hurt in his eyes at her reaction and rushed to assure him. "I would say yes, of course."

He raised an eyebrow. "You hesitated. You're unsure."

"Not about you," she spoke with conviction enough that it wasn't possible to doubt her words. "I just hadn't thought of it." She saw the perplexed look on his face and sighed, trying to find the right way to explain. "I already know I will love you forever; longer and more than one life could possibly hold. I don't need a ceremony to bind me to you. I am yours."

His smile at her profession caused Bella's breath to catch in her throat. Light shone so brightly from his eyes that she thought she might go blind if she looked for too long, but she couldn't turn away. "As I am yours," he murmured, his silky voice a caress.

"I don't need ceremony to know you are mine but since the moment I acknowledged to myself what I felt for you, I have dreamed of being able to call you my wife." He traced the features of her face with gentle fingers. "To be able to vow my devotion to you in front of our friends and family…and I suppose some part of me likes the idea of how official it is. Our names would be inscribed together in the King's ledgers. It feels like, in that way, my love for you will be part of history – forever on record, long after you and I are gone."

Bella trapped his hand with hers against the skin of her cheek. Her eyes filled with tears at the enormity of the emotion in her. She did not feel her body could hold the love she had for him. She lifted his hand off her cheek, entwining their fingers together. Minutes passed before she could formulate a coherent response.

"I feel like I owe my father a little time. My being taken away from him was not his choice and I'm just barely getting to really know him." She took a deep breath, her eyes searching his to be sure he could read the sincerity and conviction of her words. "Give him a little time and when you ask, I will say yes," she promised.

Before she knew what was happening, Edward had reversed their positions so that Bella was now on her back with him pressed against her. He claimed her lips without warning, kissing her until they were both breathless. Even when the desperate need for oxygen forced them apart he nuzzled her cheek with the tip of his nose as he caught his breath. When his breath was steady again, he rested his forehead lightly against hers. "You cannot comprehend how impossibly happy you make me, Isabella Swan."

Bella laughed, kissing his stubble covered jaw. "I think I have some idea, Edward Cullen."

He kissed her again, this kiss languid and reverent, and as he did Bella felt a sharp pain at her ankle. She gasped, her eyes flying open.

The spring afternoon in the hills turned into the chilly morning of the deep forest. She was not lying in the grass in Edward's arms; she was leaning against a tree with her arms tied uncomfortably behind her. The thrill and joy she'd felt just moments ago was replaced by aching muscles and the ever-present fear.

"Wake up," James demanded, kicking at her feet again. Bella forced her stiff neck up slowly until she was looking him in the eye. He wasn't scowling today, he was smirking. The smirk made her nervous. His amusement never meant anything good for her. She glowered back at him, ever determined not to let him see her fear.

When he spoke again his voice was smug and dangerous. His words shattered her mask of strength and anger, leaving behind only dismay; dread filling her from head to toe.

"Who's Edward?" he asked.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. Checkit – James only knew what he needed to know. He really has no idea what the heck Jane wants with Bella, let alone who Edward is. Just to clear up any confusion.**

**Expect me to work in a little bit of fluff fairly frequently. All the angst and fear and all that … it's hard to write without a little bit of the sugary love stuff.**

**Talk to me people. I love hearing from you. Those of you who are talking – you literally make my day – every single time.**


	9. Maelstrom

**Chapter 9 – Maelstrom**

**A/n – Just so you know ahead of time, there is no rape in my story. James is more than capable of it, but there's no way I'm putting Bella through that here. **

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

"Who's Edward?" James asked, standing over Bella with crossed arms.

The calm, strong façade she had built to face him faltered. It was bewildering, to say the least, to wake from a beautiful memory where Edward held her in his arms to find the sadistic bounty hunter standing over her, speaking Edward's name with a sardonic leer. "I don't know who you're talking about," she said, but the words came out shakier than she wanted. The fear and dread she'd kept at bay over the last couple of days, suddenly, struggled with her fury for equal footing.

James' smirk only grew wider. He knelt at her side, close enough for her to feel the heat of his body. Bella couldn't help but tremble at his proximity, and she tugged uselessly at the ropes that bound her to the tree. She looked anywhere but his face, noticing, that he held a vicious looking blade in his hand. He leaned closer and Bella's heart leapt into her throat. "You said his name. Over and over again," he spoke slowly, moving closer to her as he did. Bella turned her face away when his head was mere inches from hers, refusing to look him in the eye. "I'm going to ask you again," he said near her ear. "Who is Edward?"

"Where's Angela?" Bella deflected quickly, noticing for the first time since James had rudely awakened her that her friend and Victoria were missing. She felt her panic begin to rise again. Angela had never been out of her sight since James and Victoria had taken them both from the bakery.

With a snicker at her obvious attempt to change the subject, James put one hand on Bella's ankle, on the bare skin above her boots. She flinched, biting her lip to keep from whimpering at his intimate touch. "Victoria took her down to the river to get cleaned up for the day's ride. She actually bought some new clothes for both of you- pants and shirts – much more comfortable for you to ride in."

On the surface, his voice was strangely calm, even solicitous. It was such a switch from the constant sneering and snapping of the last couple of days. He set the knife on the ground and raised his hand to skim her cheek lightly with the pads of his fingers. Bella recoiled as far back against the tree as possible, feeling the rough bark dig into the skin of her scalp. "She would have taken you too, but I didn't want her to wake you from such a nice dream," James continued.

A wave of despair rolled over her at his deceivingly polite words. The sweet memory of her dream came rushing back and her need for Edward in that moment was palpable. She could feel the empty ache inside her the way amputee victims described the throbbing pain of phantom limbs. She craved the feel of his arms around her, his silky voice murmuring sweetly in her ear, the taste of his lips and tongue as they moved in tandem with hers. Suddenly there was no other thought in her head but that there was a chance she would never get to feel those things again, never get to hear his voice or smell his comforting scent. Where her rage had made her strong. Despite everything James had said and done to her, despair made her horribly fragile. Edward was essential to her survival and James had taken her away from him.

The thought was enough to rekindle the fire of anger in her as James again inquired who Edward was. This man had taken her away from everything she loved; had put everyone she loved in danger to do it, yet he had the audacity to speak Edward's name. She turned to look him in the eye, then, her own eyes alight, seething with ferocity.

"What is it to you?" she snapped. Having shaken off the fog of sleep and panic, she could think clearly now. As far as she could figure, James knew precious little about why he had been sent for Bella. He was a bounty hunter. It was not his job to ask questions. Whoever he was bringing her to knew enough about the Cullens that James had known they had among them a mind reader and a fortune teller yet he obviously didn't know enough to know exactly who Edward was. This meant that he couldn't possibly know the extent of her connection to the Cullens.

James only smiled at her again. It was same false polite smile that made the knot in her stomach intensify. He shrugged, the picture of apathy. "Forkshire is not a large place. It's unlikely that there are a lot of Edwards there. I'm sure I could find the Edward you dream about fairly easily." He dropped the hand from her cheek and picked up the blade again, twirling it easily through his fingers.

He was right, of course. As far as Bella knew there was only one other Edward in Forkshire – the mason who was old enough to be her grandsire. She fought back another wave of panic, watching the twirling knife out of the corner of her eye. "Edward has nothing to do with this. What do you want with him?"

Catching the note of desperation in her voice, James pursed his lips. "Calm down, girl." As he spoke, James leaned in closer to her, his nose brushing against her cheek as his fingers had before. His actions had the opposite effect of his command. Suddenly it felt as though her blood was made of ice. Bella felt her breathing speed. His voice was calm still, almost seductive, and the hand he had rested on her ankle began to move up her leg. "I was just making it clear that if I wanted to get to him, whoever he is, I could. So there's no point in you lying to me." His hand slid up to her knee, under her dress, and Bella shut her eyes tightly, her breath coming in tiny, audible gasps. "Tell me who he is."

Unable to keep still any longer, Bella drew her legs up to her chest, away from his wandering hand. She was terrified and furious all at once. He had threatened her body once verbally but had never laid his hands on her with that implied intent. "He's just a boy I used to know," she bit out through clenched teeth.

James chuffed once, his breath warm on her cheek. "You're lying to me again." In one of his too-quick movements he cut the ropes that bound her and stood, dragging her up with him. One hand re-hid the blade at his waist while he shoved her back against the tree with the other, pressing his body flush against hers. Bella's hands came up automatically to push him away but he grabbed her wrists and held her hands firmly at her sides.

Bella let out a quiet whimper, the trepidation over exactly what James was going to do combined with the pain of his hands clamped around her chaffed wrists briefly too much for her to withstand noiselessly. She didn't answer James' accusation. She, honestly, didn't think she could speak without her voice cracking and she had already shown far too much weakness in front of him. It was obvious the bounty hunter enjoyed her fear.

"The woman who hired me – she told me to watch out for the Cullens. She told me that if I planned things too far in advance, they had a fortune teller who would see me coming. If I stayed in town too long, they had a mind reader that would hear my thoughts. She told me that, for whatever reason, you would be important to them, and if I succeeded in taking you they would continue to be trouble if I wasn't careful." As he spoke, James spun her around pinning her against the tree with one hand in the middle of her back. The bark scratched uncomfortably against Bella's face. "But she didn't tell me you had a lover. Don't you find that strange?"

Again, Bella couldn't answer. Her mind was racing. James' revelation that his financier was female was staggering. Bella had had suspicions, of course; theories about who would want her badly enough to send a bounty hunter as skilled as James to get her. With the vision Alice had seen of Bella for months and knowing whoever was behind this knew about Edward and Alice's gifts, Bella had automatically assumed that it was Aro who had put the price on her head.

While part of her mind grappled with this, trying to figure out how everything added up and where she was being taken, the other part of her mind warred with her instincts. James had begun to unbutton the row of tiny buttons that went halfway down her back. She felt the same sensation of fight or flight that she had felt in the bakery. Just as then, it was James' power over Angela that kept her still. She could not let Angela be harmed because of her, and James had promised to do exactly that if Bella gave him any trouble. She shuddered at the feel of his hands at her back, exposing her skin slowly, only barely biting back the cry that was building in her throat.

"I think it's strange of her not to mention any potential snag in my quest, especially given the amount she's paying me to make sure the job is done right," James continued conversationally. He could have been discussing the weather for all the inflection in his voice. "So that leaves one of three options. She might not have known. Possible, I suppose. Two, she knew your lover wouldn't be a complication. Again, possible, but highly unlikely – anything is a potential complication. Or, third, he's one of these Cullens that she warned me would come after you."

Bella couldn't help it. She sucked in a sharp breath when he spoke the Cullen's name. His hands paused, halfway through the row of buttons, and she knew that James had all the confirmation he needed. His chuckle was infuriating.

He swept her hair over one shoulder and leaned in so his lips brushed the shell of her ear."I wonder if dear Edward survived the battle."

For the past few days, Bella had been walking a very thin tightrope. Somehow, through terror and fury alike, she had managed to keep relatively calm and collected. James' words combined with his actions had shaken her world, threatening to send her off her tightrope straight into a violent maelstrom.

Her logical mind knew that James wanted to break her. She'd seen it in his glares and sneers. Every time he'd managed to elicit a cry from Bella, when he gripped her by her hair or her arm viciously; every time he'd seen her eyes go wide with fear or narrow in anger, she'd seen the satisfied smirk on his face. She'd also seen the rage in his eyes when she tempered her reactions; when she was silent instead of screaming.

Bella fought to maintain her balance, teetering on a precipice. In her sleep she had unknowingly and unwillingly handed James her weakness. He was perverting the intimacy of her memories; replacing Edward's hands with his own, slow and gentle, on her body when they were usually rough and biting. How many times had Edward ghosted his lips across the skin of her neck as James was doing now? He had pushed all the right buttons, driving Bella to the point of panic as he had dragged Edward's identity and importance out of her. Now he had quite deliberately brought to the surface the one unendurable thought she had pushed to the back of her mind, out of survival.

"He's not dead," Bella whispered, more to herself than to answer James. She could hear the anguish and desperation in her voice, but she couldn't bring herself to care. It was too much to steady her voice when she was so close to shattering. She was trembling so violently she felt like her body was trying to fly apart.

Finally finished with the row of buttons, James just chuckled again. "Maybe you're right," he said as he pushed the fabric of her dress down to her shoulders.

She felt the bark of the tree cutting into the skin underneath her nails as she gripped it hard. Forcing herself to take a deep, steadying breath, Bella conjured up a mental image of Angela's terrified face. With all the emotions churning inside of her, the physical need to get James away from her, by whatever means necessary, was overwhelming. It was only her responsibility to keep Angela safe that kept her relatively still. She knew she would withstand any violation James planned if it meant he would keep his hands off her innocent friend.

Abruptly, James stiffened. His hands moved quickly from the bare skin at her neck to sweep her hair off her shoulder, so it flowed down her back again, the thick tresses effectively masking the open dress. He stepped away from her completely and Bella sank to her knees – her legs too unsteady to hold her. She sat as still as she could, desperately trying to calm the tremors that wracked her body, wiping angrily at the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes with trembling fingers. She found she could not stop, and clamped one hand over her mouth to muffle the sob that bubbled over.

With a smug snicker, James walked away from her, over to his pack. Bella could finally pick out Victoria's irritated voice coming from a short distance away. "Hurry up, girl!" She must be coming back with Angela. Bella was mildly surprised that part of her mind was able to notice that Victoria's presence had stopped James. This was exactly why she couldn't afford to lose any sort of control. She needed to be able to think clearly. Any tidbit of information she gleaned from James or Victoria could be the difference between escape and captivity. But her mind wouldn't wrap around this fact. Her thoughts were too scattered, and seared blank with fear and dread.

As they came into the campsite, Angela took one look at Bella and hurried to her friend's side. Bella knew what she must look like – shaking and sobbing on her knees with one hand braced against the tree and the other clasped tightly over mouth. "Bella?" Angela whispered, putting an arm around her, comforting her for the first time since this whole nightmare began. When she came in contact with her bare back Angela gasped. "Bella?" she asked again, shock in her voice. Bella just shook her head vehemently, not really knowing what she was trying to communicate. Everything was wrong!

A minute or so later and Angela's gentle patting had failed to sooth Bella. The girl glanced over to where Victoria and James stood at the other end of the campsite. They were talking, ignoring their captives for the moment. "Bella," she whispered, panic creeping into her voice. "Please. The only reason I haven't gone mad is because you're so calm all the time. I can't be the strong one. Please," she begged softly.

Bella squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying to find the control she needed to stop her tears. Something about the panic that gripped her triggered a memory from just a few short days ago. The last time she'd seen any of her family, the Cullens had all tried to comfort her before they rode off to battle.

"_Nothing bad is going to happen," Alice had said._

"_Don't fret little sister," Emmett had laughed._

"_I know you're worried, but don't be. Our family is strong," Jasper had soothed. _

_And then Edward had taken her in his arms and kissing her tenderly. "I will come back for you," he promised in her memory._

The memories of her family both comforted her and sent a renewed wave of anguish through her. They had been sucked into a battle James had created in order to distract them. They could have been killed or hurt so that James could get to her. The thought, and Edward's voice in her memory, gave her the strength she so desperately needed. She felt, somehow, that she would have known, somewhere deep in her soul, if Edward was dead. If she still continued to breathe then he must be alive. As long as he was alive she could bear anything.

She took a deep breath. She could be strong for Angela.

And another. She could be strong for her father.

She opened her eyes. She could be strong for the sisters and brothers and mother and father she found in the Cullens.

Finally able to keep herself upright, she let go of the tree and wiped the remnants of tears off her cheek. She could be strong for Edward. Whether it was to find her way back to his arms or doing whatever she could to keep him away from this dangerous bounty hunter, she could be strong for him.

She glared across the campsite to where James and Victoria were talking, James nuzzling Victoria's neck as if he hadn't had his hands on Bella only minutes before. Bella felt a flare of disgust, and fury again became her primary emotion. Fury she could deal with. Fury was strong, igniting that inner fire in her that let her put on the façade that she wasn't just a terrified shop girl.

She would be strong. And she would be damned before she let James break her.

***

Later, in a different part of the forest

Edward was a very smart man. He knew enough about the body and how it was affected when deprived of food, drink and rest. He knew that even if he could push himself harder, further, longer – his horse had physical needs as well. In order to make himself stop every night, he had to remind himself that his horse was faster than his own two legs, and therefore its needs should be taken care of accordingly.

However, he also knew much about the mind. He knew that it could and would shut down to protect itself if the mental strain became too much to bear. He knew it was possible for a healthy mind to shatter under the right circumstances.

Every moment he spent separated from Bella, unable to see her or hold her safe in his arms, felt like the right circumstances. It was impossible, every night, to stop moving toward her. He would beg his family to keep going. Just one more mile. One more town. But eventually, necessity dictated that he relent.

The stillness was maddening. Edward was a man of action. It was why he was always on the front lines during a fight and why he was involved in most everything the guild did. For all of his adult life he had helped the people of Forkshire and the surrounding countryside. He had protected them and solved problems and disputes beyond their ability to resolve. Yet the one person more precious to him than all of the townspeople combined, more precious than his own life, he had failed protect. The uncertainty of her situation and the lack of a concrete plan to rescue her was pure torture to endure.

Somehow worse than the stillness and waiting were the visions that flashed in Alice's head. For the most part they were flickers – brief, still images, or a second or two of action at most. There was nothing that helped or gave them any clue how to find and stop the group before they reached Volterra.

They had stopped for the night at a small town, checking into two rooms at the local inn. Alice, Edward and Jasper were in one room, and Esme, Carlisle, Irina and Laurent in the other. It was another in a long list of wrongs as far as Edward was concerned. It felt criminal that he was able to rest in a comfortable bed in a warm room with family and friends while Alice's visions revealed Bella and Angela sleeping outdoors, their hands bound behind their backs.

Guilt weighing heavily on him, Edward regulated himself to a corner of the room, his knees pulled up to his chest and his hands gripping fistfuls of his unruly hair as he watched Alice's visions skip around. He let out a frustrated growl at one of the images in her head. James stood, his hands on either side of Bella's head, caging her between them. He was leaning against her, his expression smug. Bella's face was turned away from him, her eyes closed and lips set in a thin line.

As far as Edward could tell, James had not violated Bella, but he seemed to be continuously on the edge of doing so, or at the very least, implying that he would. He was trying to intimidate her or terrorize her, but to what end? The best that Edward could figure was that James simply got off on her fear. It seemed the bounty hunter was a fan of sadistic games. Edward growled again, suppressing the urge to beat up another wall. He knew from his prior experience that it displaced the physical need to tear something apart for only a moment and then he would have to withstand his mother's pained expressions while his father put his knuckles back together again. As it was, the sympathy in the thoughts of his family just added to the never-ending list of wrongs. He didn't deserve their pity.

"I'm sorry," Alice said. _I really wish I could keep these visions from you._

Edward looked up briefly from his wallowing. "Honestly, Alice, it's better that than be left to my own imagination," he offered weakly. _And I deserve to see what I've done, I deserve to suffer more than a fraction of what she's suffering, _he did not say out loud. While it increased his sense of helplessness and made him nearly deranged with rage, her visions at least held a degree of certainty. With some of the horrors he'd seen in his short life, Edward was fairly sure his imagination could have conjured endless versions of horrible fates for Bella. He shuddered at the thought of Bella in place of the victims of some of the more atrocious crimes he'd witnessed.

As inconspicuously as possible, Jasper strummed a simple, soothing tune on his lyre. Edward felt the calming effects immediately, and the horrible weight in his chest lessened slightly. He both hated and appreciated Jasper's help. He appreciated it because it quieted the ache enough for him to breathe and think clearly.

He hated it because he hated that his family had to take care of him. It was a necessity. He acknowledged that. If his family were not with him, he would surely have run himself into the ground going after Bella by now. Hating that weakness in him did not make it any less of a reality. He needed Jasper's gift to keep the sensation that he was drowning away. He needed his sister to know with certainty that Bella was still alive, preserving the fragile grip he held on his sanity. He needed his mother to remind him to eat and to put the food in his hands so he would not forget. He needed Rosalie's potions to sleep – there was no possibility he would get even the few short hours of dreamless sleep her potions granted if he were left to his own devices.

So Edward gave in, and let the notes wash over him, using the borrowed calm to get his thoughts in order.

Laurent had told them of Victoria's gift. Victoria had sixth sense about when she would be in danger. If there was danger present, some sticky situation, she would immediately feel a pull in the other direction. So it made sense that, despite the fact that the Cullens had to be moving faster with Jasper's help, they never caught up with James and Victoria. Alice's visions remained chaotic, meaning that James and Victoria changed their course frequently, not deciding with any certainty what direction they were going except that they were headed to Volterra.

No matter what happened, Alice always saw them eventually getting to Volterra.

Again, Edward tugged at his hair in frustration. Seeing Bella in the hands of James and Victoria was infuriating, but if they reached Volterra…the idea was utterly terrifying. James and Victoria they could handle. Aro and his legion of followers was a whole other story.

_What have I done? _The words repeated like a mantra in his head. Guilt and horror encroached on Edward's chest again. He drowned in it, gasping for breath without ever being able to fill his lungs. Even Jasper's playing could not alleviate the anxiety.

He felt a hand cover each of his fists, trying to pry his fingers away from his hair. He glanced up, having been too lost in his thoughts and Alice's visions to notice Esme and Carlisle enter the room. It was Esme who had her hands wrapped around his, her face sorrowful but gentle.

In her thoughts Edward could see himself. His hands were clenched so hard in his hair that his knuckles were white with tension. He was pressed almost completely back into the corner of the room, his body shaking ever so slightly, and his teeth gritted hard.

"Edward," Esme said in soft, pleading voice. "Sweetheart, you're going to tear your hair out."

Letting out a shaky, desperate sounding laugh, Edward allowed Esme to work his fingers loose. He dropped his hands to his sides. Before he even had a chance to think about stopping them, the words that had been building in him for days spilled out. "It's my fault."

Esme opened her mouth to argue but Edward interrupted her. "It's my fault, Mother," he shook his head, guilt and shame, terror and anguish filling him. He clenched his fists at his sides.

"How could you possibly take this on yourself, Edward?" Esme asked, stroking his hair in an attempt to sooth him. Her comforting hands felt like fire, only increasing the weight of his utter failure.

He put his hands over his face, his head down, unable to look at any of them. "Ask Jasper, he knows. So does Alice."

Esme and Carlisle turned to look at Jasper and Alice who were both looking at Edward's crumpled form. It was Jasper who spoke. "Edward…," he started, sympathy too strong in his voice.

"I hear it in your thoughts, Jasper, and it's not untrue," Edward's voice was barely more than a whisper. Even to his own ears he sounded defeated. "Didn't I make her the weakest link, the easiest target? Think about it! My grandfather hasn't seen us nor probably heard that much about us since I was 16. That means that through Irina's thoughts he would have been introduced to you and Rosalie as well as Bella. But there's the difference between you two and Bella. You have both been trained and have full use of your abilities."

He finally raised his head to face his family. "I've known for a long while now that Bella is gifted. It's what keeps her thoughts from me. Eleazar thinks she has a strong affinity for magic," he confessed. He could hear his father's shock as he thought this over. It seemed very obvious to him in retrospect. His mother's eyes widened in surprise. "I kept her magical aptitude from her thinking I was protecting her from this chaotic and dangerous life we lead." He looked up, his pleading eyes finding Jasper first. "I would have told her. I should have told her. She would have been able to protect herself from this."

"Hindsight is the sharpest sight we have, brother," Jasper said quietly. True to form he neither condemned him, nor absolved his brother of guilt. He merely told the truth of the situation. "But that doesn't change what is. You're not going to help her by falling apart."

Edward dropped his head back into his hands, struggling to push back the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to break him. Jasper was right. What Bella needed was for him to use the strengths that had helped so many others instead of dwelling on his weakness.

"Who knows, Edward? Besides you and Eleazar?" Carlisle asked urgently. _Could Aro know?_

"I don't know how he could," Edward answered his unspoken question first. "Eleazar, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and myself. That's all who knew."

"But it's always possible Eleazar could have said something to Irina – or hinted at the very least," Jasper suggested. Irina was Eleazar's niece and adopted daughter. The family was close. Anything that Irina would have known, Aro would know.

"Anything is possible," Edward allowed tiredly, though he didn't think it was likely. Or perhaps he hoped it wasn't. It was hard to know what was preferable: Bella being merely a pawn in Aro's games or him lusting after her potential power.

"We can't dismiss the possibility that it's not you, or any of us, Aro wants, but Bella herself," Carlisle reasoned.

Edward lifted his head again to look at his father. "I'm not dismissing that possibility. However, regardless I know it's not _only_ her he wants. Bella's potential would only be an added bonus to him, but it's us," he gestured between himself and Alice, "That he's always wanted."

He sighed, realizing that it was time to let go of a secret he'd held alone for five years.

_It had been nearly six years since Edward had first set eyes on his grandfather. He had been 16, Emmett was 19 and Alice was 14. Despite her parent's obvious wariness in introducing their children to their maternal grandfather, and despite the solemnity of the occasion, Alice was ecstatic. She was eager to meet these members of her family she'd known existed but never seen._

_The family had approached the throne together, Esme going to her Uncle Marcus' side and hugging him fiercely. The man was obviously heartbroken, his thoughts a chaotic mess of sadness, guilt and regret over his wife's passing. While Edward spared a sympathetic thought for him, it was Aro he was interested in, and it was Aro whose thoughts he concentrated on._

_Aro was talking to other guests at the time, but the moment his daughter and her family had walked into the room he had had his eye on them. He was looking at Emmett, Edward and Alice especially, noting Emmett's massive body, and Edward's youthful and lanky but muscular frame. _Fighters, _he thought. He was eager to meet them; to see their thoughts._

_Esme finally stood and stepped back to stand next to Carlisle before she finally turned to Aro. "Father," she said softly._

"_My dear child," Aro had whispered. His voice was emotional, but not the same emotions that Edward could hear in his mind. Out loud he appeared as he was – a father finally reconciling with his daughter after almost two decades. Edward's eyes narrowed as he realized that it was an act. He hadn't missed Esme. He was only concerned with the three teenagers at her side, curiosity strong in his thoughts. "Who are these young men and young lady with you?"_

_Edward heard both his parent's quiet dread, before Esme spoke. "These are my children. Emmett, Edward and-,"_

_Unable to hold herself back any longer Alice burst forward. "I'm Alice," she said, enthusiastically thrusting her hand out at Aro's surprised face._

"_Alice," Carlisle warned, stepping forward to pull his daughter back. _

_Aro waved him off. "It's fine Carlisle," he turned back to Alice, his smile blinding. "If I had known you existed, young one, I would have been just as eager to meet you." He put his hand in hers. _

_Instantly Edward cringed away from the barrage of thoughts that assaulted his mind. At first, he didn't know what was going on. The inundation of thoughts, images, and voices in Aro's head had taken on a double timber Edward had never heard before. They didn't belong to Aro, but his thoughts were wrapped around them. Of course, his parents had told him about Aro's gift, but experiencing it was more than a little disconcerting. Alice's thoughts screamed at him through Aro's mind. All of her memories. All of her words. Everything. Most of the images and sounds went by at a speed Edward couldn't even begin to process. But some slowed down, the audio and visual images becoming as clear as the day they had occurred. _

_It took Edward a moment to realize that Aro was picking and choosing which memories, which memories he wanted to see. He could hear Aro's confusion as he realized something was off about some of Alice's memories. _

_Then, suddenly, Aro understood what he was seeing. Alice and her visions of the future. _

_Automatically, Aro began to scan at a furious rate, trying to take in all he could, see all he could._

_Furious as this invasion of privacy, Edward stepped forward and wrapped a protective arm around Alice's waist, pulling her gently away from their grandfather. He glared at the older man challengingly._

_Aro chuckled, dismissing the action as he had expected Esme and her family to be wary of him. "It's nice to see you are so close to your sister," Aro said lightly as he reached out to place his hand over Edward._

_Startled momentarily by the thoughts that had been crossing through Aro's mind, Edward didn't move his hand immediately. Then he started to hear his own thoughts, his own memories as they became Aro's and he yanked both himself and Alice away._

_Again, Aro played it off, turning to address Emmett, but Esme and Carlisle had not missed the tense exchange. Edward looked up at them, his eyes conveying that they needed to leave as soon as possible. _

_As soon as he had realized what Edward could do, Aro had begun to mask his thoughts, but not before Edward heard him contemplate the possibilities of having his talented grandchildren at his disposal. _

Edward remembered clearly the thoughts in Aro's mind after he'd understood what Alice could do. His thoughts wrapped around her with desire and possessiveness, not in a sexual way, but in an all too disturbing, powerful want.

"I told you Aro was just curious about us," Edward admitted, looking at his mother. "But he wasn't merely curious. He could see it. He was already planning what he could do if Alice and I joined his guard. How he could use me as a plant to root out his enemies, dissenters and doubters."

He turned to look Alice in the eye, expressing his regret silently that he had never told her what he was about to tell her now. "But from what I heard in his thoughts, he has never wanted anything as much as he wanted Alice. I could see, even in the brief time we were there, he would have done anything to have us – but her specifically."

"Why?" Esme whispered. "It's been almost 6 years. Why didn't you tell us this?" She sat down heavily on the bed, a hand to her mouth. Carlisle sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist tightly.

"You were already so worried about something happening," Edward said quietly. "I didn't see the point of worrying you further. Aro couldn't do anything to us, not without an obvious coup."

"Why didn't you tell _me_," Alice pressed, anger in her tone.

"Alice, you were 14. Think about the child you were back then. You would have been terrified. There was no reason to do that to you when I knew we could protect you. And you would have seen if he came after either of us," Edward explained. "Then time passed and…well, it just didn't come up, did it? He never had the chance to come after us. We never gave him a reason."

Frustration returned to Edward tenfold. What was the reason now? He knew better than to think that Aro, or Jane as it seemed, didn't have some convoluted logic behind sending bounty hunters after Bella. They wouldn't have done it without a way to justify it.

"Edward," Carlisle's voice interrupted his thoughts. Edward looked up. "I need you to reconcile with the fact that if James gets to Volterra before us, you can't go in the city." He looked at Alice and Jasper, "None of you can."

Edward and Alice both opened their mouths to protest but Carlisle cut them off. "No," he said firmly. "Listen to me first. Let me and your mother speak to Aro. Until we know what his excuses will be, we can't hope to fight them. You know he will have thought this out several moves ahead. And Edward, you'll either do whatever he asks or you won't be able to contain your anger. If you and Alice are what he's wanted all these years, and I have no doubt that that's exactly the case, you'd only be playing right into his hands. If he manipulates you, it will make it all that much easier to go after Alice."

Again, Edward opened his mouth to argue, but he could find no way to refute his father's logic. He had already acknowledged he would give up anything to save Bella. Even if it meant sacrificing his sister's freedom along with his own.

Carlisle moved off the bed and squatted down so he was face to face with his son. "Edward, promise me. I am commanding it as your leader, but I am asking it as your father. Please, promise me you won't go in the city when we get there. Not until we figure out what's going on."

"I can't do that," Edward said automatically, his voice tinged with desperation again. He needed to be able to physically do something, anything. The inaction was already driving him mad and they were still about a week out from Volterra.

"Just think about it, Edward. You know that Bella wouldn't want you to trade your life for hers. Especially not if we can get her out without endangering any of you. Please, at least give your mother and me that chance to try." Edward held his breath but didn't respond, and Carlisle sighed. "Just think about it," he repeated. "We have time yet, before we get there."

A few minutes later and his family had convinced Edward it was time to get some rest. Pulling one of the slim vials from the pack that Rosalie had sent with them, he had glared at it for a moment before tossing it back. He was asleep in seconds, his face troubled even in unconsciousness.

Alice sighed, looking down at her brother. "It'll be a miracle if you can keep him out of the city, Fa," she said quietly to Carlisle. "It will be a miracle if he doesn't go mad before this is all over."

"I know," Carlisle responded grimly. He pulled his daughter into a tight embrace, tucking her under one arm and Esme into the other.

Holding them in his arms, Carlisle admitted to himself the trepidation he felt for the coming days. Typically speaking, when he went into any situation he had some measure of control over the outcome. He had good people behind him and at his side, and a lifetime of experience both on the field and in the treaty room.

But he had already come so close to losing his oldest son. The girl he looked on as a dear daughter was suffering, and his inability to save her promised that she would suffer more. And if he failed in his mission to save her from whatever his maniacal father-in-law had planned....

Carlisle looked down at his sleeping son, his chest tightening with worry. If he couldn't save Bella, he knew in no uncertain terms that he would not only be losing a daughter, but he would be losing Edward as well.

**A/N: Ah, the angst, the angst. **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to my new beta Athendora. I've been struggling without a steady beta, so she's amazing like that. **

**Please let me know if you have any questions, how it's all working, opinions, comments, "hey stupid did you forget about-" whatever, I wanna hear it. Hit the review button.**


	10. Death In Volterra

**Chapter 10: Death in Volterra**

**A/n : Oh my. I am sorry to anyone who has been waiting for an update (like, the 4 of you hehe). School and work and 2 bastard other fics would not let me get back to my baby. But I'm back now and intend to be updating more frequently, like before.**

**Um - remember, we're traveling toward Volterra. James and Victoria have Bella and Angela. Edward, Jasper, Alice, Esme, Carlisle, Irina and Laurent are in pursuit. **

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

Bella knew she was dreaming again.

She must have fallen asleep in the saddle. Her dreams took her back through her memories to a different saddle. Instead of riding, as she had been for two weeks now, with her back pressed against James, she was riding with her arms wrapped around Edward's waist.

It was right after the meadow - she and Edward had finally declared themselves after months of dancing around each other. He had kissed her breathless under the light of the full moon, making up for every time he had held back from touching and loving her. Though the night was cool, the lingering heat of his kisses kept her warm as they made their way back to Forkshire. They rode in silence, her cheek resting against his leather tunic and her arms firmly around him. He kept one hand on the horse but his other hand traced the edges of her fingers as she held on to him.

_She felt his back tense under her cheek as they got closer to town, but then he breathed easier. "The men," he used the term loosely, "Who attacked you have been detained. Your father and the knights are taking care of them now."_

_Bella shuddered, breathing in his scent to soothe the sharp spike of fear that had run down her back at the mention of the four men Edward had rescued her from earlier that evening. With all the revelations since then, she would have forgotten save for her aching cheek and bruised wrists. Hearing her unsteady breath, Edward squeezed her hand reassuringly. _

_Another set of horse hooves joined them as they rode into town. Bella was not at all surprised to see Alice, looking slightly disheveled but otherwise unharmed. Alice grimaced at the mark on her cheek. "Don't worry, Bella, they look a great deal worse."_

_"Are you alright? And Jasper and Emmett?" Bella asked, suddenly anxious. _

_"Of course," Alice assured her. She looked over at her brother. "I told Sir Swan that she was fine but Father would prefer to keep watch over her tonight. You're welcome." Alice grinned at them both and rode away before they could get a word in edgewise. _

_Edward sighed but Bella could feel the tension in his shoulders loosen. They were almost to the guild house now. "I'll understand if you don't want to stay - I would just prefer to not have you out of my sight tonight," Edward said softly. _

_She clutched his hand in both of hers. "I want to stay with you," she assured him._

_When they arrived at the guild house, Carlisle wanted to look at Bella's wrists but Esme took one look at the way their hands were clasped tightly and shooed them up the stairs. _

_Edward tried to do the gentlemanly thing by staying on the couch. Having none of that, Bella got out of his bed, taking him by the hand, shy and bold at the same time, and tugged until he relented and laid down facing her._

_They talked. All the things they wanted to say to each other for months were said. They talked about their limited intimate experience. Edward had bedded a couple of girls before, but both times he had been drunk off his ass and celebrating a victory in a distant land. Bella's experience was limited to the one boy she had kissed, before Edward. He had been the foreman's son on her mother's farm, and she had only done it to see if she was missing anything. _

_They did not share their bodies that night, but he kept her warm and safe in his arms as she slept. _

Bella opened her eyes, a nagging feeling at the back of her mind telling her something was wrong. She blinked in the sunlight that was filtering into the room. Something was wrong. She blinked and pulled the blanket up a bit to ward off the early morning chill. Then she froze.

The blankets were too warm and the bed she was on too soft. For the last two weeks she had slept on hard ground or with her hands tied around small trees. Now she was definitely in a bed...on top of pillows. The bed was lumpy and the straw that filled the pillows poked at her, but it was as good as the king's best silk for how it felt compared to the dirt.

Bella sat bolt upright, confused and disoriented. She found James easily enough. He was sitting in a chair, leaning back with his feet up on a tiny table that was tucked into the corner. He was smiling that wicked smile that sent a spike of dread throughout Bella's body. She was frozen in place by the look in his eyes - all evil and not unlike a very big cat toying with its prey.

A noise from the other side of the room finally broke the hold that James had on her. She looked up to see Victoria toweling off in front of the basin. She was watching Bella too, a smirk on her face.

"Where's Angela," Bella blurted, her voice sounding too panicked for her own liking.

Victoria just snickered and moved to where James sat. She kissed him long and slow. "I'll be back," she said, and then she was gone.

James' eyes followed her to the door. When she was gone he smiled a tight smile, then turned his gaze back to Bella. Bella blinked, trying to reorient herself; trying to remember the last thing that had happened. Everything seemed off and she still wasn't quite sure why.

As her mind unfroze she had questions. Many questions. Still out of sorts, the questions tumbled out of her in a confused but harsh tone. "How did I get here? Where are we? Where. Is. Angela?"

James smirked again and put his feet on the floor. He said nothing, he just propped ups elbows on his knees and leaned his head on his folded hands. He was just watching her again. Toying with her. Trying to unnerve her.

It was working.

Caught up in worry for her friend, Bella had failed to realize that she wasn't bound in any way. As soon as she figured that out she was out of the bed, as far across the room from James as she could get. As she stood she almost fell, unmistakably woozy. She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. She noted that her body was lethargic, despite the adrenaline rush the fear had brought with it.

Chancing to look away from James for a second, Bella glanced out the one window in the room. She froze at what she saw. The window was too high for her to see out of it from her current position but she could see the sky. The sun was not yet to its midpoint. When she had closed her eyes in the saddle it had been a little past midday. Her eye shot back to James, but his chair was empty. She started as he came up beside her - stealthy and moving too quickly.

Bella's heart beat out of control. She backed up a few paces automatically. "You drugged me. Why? And where is Angela?"

James chuffed. "Yet again you are in no place to be making demands," he said as he stalked toward her. Bella instinctively stepped backward. She tripped and started to fall but he grabbed her by her arm, pushing her up against the wall. "You just never learn, do you girl?"

"Where is Angela?" Bella demanded again, forcing herself to look him in the eye.

He sneered. He pulled his dagger from where it was hidden and pressed it flat against her cheek. "You don't need to worry about your little friend anymore."

Bella froze, her eyes going wide and her mouth falling open as she gasped. The pieces fell into place. James had always said that Angela was of no consequence to him. He used Angela to control Bella. They must be near the people who paid James. They hadn't needed Angela anymore, and had drugged Bella to ensure that she gave them no problems until they were safely at their destination. "You killed her," Bella whispered.

James trailed the knife down, the cold metal pressing against her throat as a warning, "You have bigger things to worry about."

Bella was still as she tried to process that she had inadvertently cost one of her best friends her life. Angela's face filled her mind. The shy girl who was always at her side in the bakery. The questioned she asked about Edward as his and Bella's relationship developed. She was so unlike the other girls in town, whose questions were designed to find the best gossip. Angela had always been genuine. Bella remembered, the day after she'd fallen asleep in Edward's bed, his arms wrapped around her, she'd come late to the bakery. Angela had greeted her with a knowing smile. "Edward finally pulled his head out of his ass?" They had giggled together over Edward and Ben - Angela's love.

And now she was gone. And it was Bella's fault.

The slap of the dagger on the nightstand as James put it down startled Bella out of her reverie. Her eyes flew to James' again. He was standing close to her, one hand still pressed against her shoulder, pinning her against the wall. He brought his free hand up, tangling it in her hair.

The sharp pain where he yanked her hair focused her thoughts and redirected the blame to where it should go - squarely on James' shoulders. Bella was not helpless, and as James had said she no longer had to worry about Angela. "Don't touch me!" she yelled, furious. She brought her knee up but James spun just enough that she missed his groin. She still hit him pretty hard, causing him to stumble backward a step. Not wasting anytime she drove her elbow into his chest causing him to gasp.

She wanted to stay; to beat the life from him as he had robbed Angela's life. She knew that he was physically stronger than she was and better trained. Making a fist with both hands, Bella threw all of her power into an uppercut that had James groaning and stumbling back again. Then she ran.

She didn't get far, James having been prepared for her antics. He grabbed her by the back of the linen shirt she wore and yanked her backward. Bella collided with the wall, falling to the floor. It hadn't hurt her badly but she was stunned into stillness. James did not give her time to recover. He reached down and yanked her up roughly, hurtling her toward the bed. He leaned over her immediately, pinning her body with his so that her upper body was pressed into the rumpled blankets. "Gods damn you!" Bella raged, infuriated by her own helplessness. "Pathetic son of a whore."

He laughed and gripped her hair again, forcing her head back so he could put his lips to her ear. "Pathetic am I? Yet here you are under me. Tell me who's the pathetic one," he hissed, his free hand traveling down the curve of her body. "You're not very bright Isabella. You could have made this easy on yourself. Enjoyable, even," he let go of her hair, giving her head a shove. "Now, not only will I have you - one way or another - but when I find your lover, your dear," he sneered the word, "Edward, I'm going to tell him of all the fun," he emphasized the word by slipping his hand under the hem of the simple leather pants she wore, his fingers digging into the skin of her ass pointedly, "We had together." He leaned all the way over her again, his head resting against hers. "Then," he whispered, "I'm going to kill him. Slowly."

"No!" Bella screamed the word. As James had been talking she had been inching her arm backward, toward the nightstand where he had slammed down his dagger. Her fingers finally closed around the hilt of the blade and she swung blindly, feeling the dagger dig into flesh. James yelled, his weight suddenly disappearing from her. Bella stood and spun in one quick movement, the bloody knife in her hand. James had one hand pressed against his side, against the wound she'd inflicted. "You're not getting near Edward." She swung at him again with the knife but he grabbed her arm.

After the fact, it was hard to figure out exactly what had happened. Bella had been blinded by rage and fear. She remembered screaming at him as she swung the knife, and she remembered that they wrestled. She remembered him crying out so the dagger must have struck him a number of times. Everything was blurry. Everything happened so quickly.

Then, suddenly, she was on the floor on her knees and James was pressed into a corner, completely slumped over. He wasn't moving. She blinked as if coming out of a trance. James was bloody. Very bloody.

The door opened and Bella's head whipped around at the noise. Victoria stood there, and for a moment everything was eerily silent.

Then Bella followed Victoria's eyes, seeing what had them wide and shocked.

Bella's arm was still up; the dagger still in her fist. Her fingers were gripped so tightly around it that they were white. It was a stark contrast to the deep crimson that covered the dagger and her hand and trickled down her arm. Bella dropped the dagger, startling when it landed with a loud thud against the wood floor.

Then Victoria shrieked.

***

**Meanwhile, close but still too far away**

Edward had known what Jasper was doing when he heard the song he played. Of course, he had heard it many times before - but always aimed at the enemy. It was a slowing song, designed to lull the target into a harmless sleep. In Edward's case it was to keep him from pushing his horse to hard and getting away from the group. They were less than a day's ride from Volterra and Edward was desperate. He still didn't understand how James and Victoria had stayed ahead of them the entire, unbearably long, two weeks. But stay ahead they had. Alice'd had a vision earlier that day where she saw Bella lying in a bed, asleep and untied for once. She hadn't seen anything after that.

Jasper's song had its intended effect. Edward was out cold in his saddle. However, unlike Rosalie's potions, Jasper's song did not grant him dreamless sleep. Instead he was lost in his memories. Some part of him knew he was dreaming, but he could remember exactly what she felt like in his dreams. He could remember her scent and the sound of her laughter. Part of him was relieved to be able to see, hear and feel her like this.

_It was late afternoon, a couple of days after Alice's wedding. Edward was sitting in a chair in the corner of the bakery, watching Bella work. She was baking - not for profit or for anyone else - just for him. If you had asked him, before Bella, if he thought there was any kind of grace or beauty in baking, he would have quirked an eyebrow and merely chuckled. Watching Bella, he was now aware that baking could look almost like a dance. He was fascinated. Kneading dough and tossing together ingredients, Bella was in her element. Her hands were sure and she used no measuring cups, seeming to toss things into bowls and cut off portions at random._

_As she worked she would cast glances as him. This worried him when she was cutting the apples. She looked up at him from under her lashes and the knife in her hand kept slicing. But she was so sure and confident in her bakery that she had only laughed at his admonishment. "Do you remember last week when you and Emmett were dueling...with live swords and no armor?"_

_He had nodded, not sure what she was getting at. She'd merely raised her eyebrows, holding his gaze as her hands kept cutting the apples. Then it had clicked - she had been terrified for him and yet had said nothing, knowing he was sure of himself. When she saw the comprehension on his face she lifted the tiny knife she was wielding. "Besides, nobody needs all 10 fingers."_

_She finally set the turnovers to bake and sat at the small table, across from Edward. They spoke softly of nothing important, their hands clasped over the table. He played with her fingers, stroking her skin. The aroma of baking apples, pastry and sugar filled the small space and Edward was almost as anxious as a five year old waiting for cookies to cool. By the time the turnovers came out of the oven - looking golden and crisp and perfect - Edward was surprised he wasn't drooling._

_She made him wait until they were relatively cool. _

_Edward had had to keep his eyelids from fluttering as he chewed. "This is...divine," he said as he swallowed the first bite, quickly going in for another. He thought about the other time she had made these, when he wasn't talking to her and was hardly looking at her. The day he had saved her from being hit by a wagon and trampled to death. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "that day, I was about to let Alice force one of these down my throat. I would have given in right there. You didn't need to throw yourself in front of Tyler's cart after all," he teased._

_She laughed, surprised that he was able to laugh about that day, and bit into her own pastry. They ate in silence, Edward remembering that he had almost lost her. Then he was thinking about it again - Alice's vision. The vision where she was on her knees at his grandfather's feet. It still hadn't gone away. "What if I can't protect you from..." he said before he realized he was speaking out loud._

_She looked up, knowing by the look on his face what he was talking about. It was a far away - desolate look. If there was one thing Edward hated it was the future being out of his control. No matter what they did - that vision could not escape them. It seemed it was her fate. "Then you can't protect me," she said slowly, as if it were only logical. He looked up at her, stricken. "Edward...every life is lived on borrowed time. Something, someday, is going to separate us. You know - it's more likely that it will be you. I'm a baker. Given your lifestyle, it's more likely that you'll ride off one day...and I'll never see you alive again." She was visibly distraught at this thought._

_"That's not going to happen," he said, even though he knew damn well that it was a distinct possibility._

_He could tell she knew he was lying. "It could," Bella said simply. She looked back down at her pastry, dusting off grains of sugar idly. "I hate that I can't protect you almost as much as I hate that you feel like you have to protect me. I want to be strong - like Alice and Rosalie. I wish I could be by your side - and that we could protect each other."_

_He didn't have a response for her. As much as he always wanted to be near her, the idea of her facing the horrors he had known was...terrifying. Instead of answering he leaned forward over the table. She leaned forward automatically and he kissed her. He eased his guilt at keeping her in the dark about her power by kissing her long and slow, his tongue tasting the sweetness of the apple turnover in her mouth. He stood and pulled her into his arms. She felt so delicate and small; he had convinced himself once again that what he was doing was right. She was too vulnerable to put in a field where any one of a hundred things could kill her. He was desperate to keep her safe. _

Edward stirred in the saddle, coming into the present - groggy. That day in the bakery, he had taken her against the wall, both of them needy for each other - knowing their time might be short. Instead of reveling in the sweetness of their lovemaking, Edward was wallowing in the consequences of his own mistakes.

"Hey," Jasper's voice broke into his thoughts. "I can practically feel the guilt coming off you, Edward."

Edward looked up, blinking and taking in his surroundings. He was still in his saddle. He guessed that Jasper had been riding close to make sure he didn't fall off. Carlisle and Esme were slightly ahead of the group. Alice was off to the side, looking distressed as she had been for the last two weeks. Laurent and Irina were riding behind. Edward shook his head, trying to grasp time and place.

"It's your fault," he said tiredly. "If you hadn't put me to sleep I wouldn't have been dreaming about her." _And just how monumentally I failed her_, he did not add.

Jasper scoffed lightly. "You were going out of your skin as it was."

"I feel like I'm going to lose my mind," Edward admitted in a soft voice, hoping his parents couldn't hear them. "Two weeks Jasper...to know she's alive, and yet always just out of reach. I can't bear it." His voice was heavy. "I know the what-ifs are useless, but I have nothing but time...nothing to do but ride and think of how it could have been different if only I hadn't been so stupid."

Jasper regarded his brother-in-law for a long minute before speaking. "You know, Edward, Alice is perhaps the only one in the world who can see the future. Yet even she cannot arrange things just perfectly so that nothing bad ever happens. If she, with her gift, is not capable of fighting the future - what makes you think you should be infallible?" Jasper shook his head. "Alice saw the vision of Bella before you ever knew about her potential," he reminded him.

"You know how her visions work. The future is in motion. It changes. Until it happens, her visions aren't reality," Edward snapped back. Which meant that every single decision he made could have prevented the vision from ever happening.

"Well, that means you have time, so have hope," Jasper put a hand on Edward's arm. "It's not over yet brother. We'll find some way out of this."

Edward didn't answer. Logically, he knew what Jasper was getting at. Logic mattered very little when it couldn't help snatch Bella away from Aro's greedy hands. He rubbed his eyes again, trying to shake off the stupor of sleep so that he could be ready if..._when_ he was in a position to help Bella.

They were nearing a town; the last town before Volterra in fact. It was a tiny village about five miles outside of the huge city. Automatically, Edward began to scan the minds of the city. If nothing else, it gave him something to distract himself with.

Edward's breath caught in his throat when he heard a familiar mind, and saw Bella's face in its thoughts.

Angela Weber was in this town.

He had spurred his horse into a run before he had finished processing the thought.

"Edward!" he heard Jasper and his father's voices call to him, but he didn't stop. After two weeks, his body was down to base reactions - survival mode. He needed Bella. Angela had been with Bella. Getting to Angela was one step closer to having Bella back in his arms.

He could see, in her thoughts, that she was worried first and foremost for her friend. She didn't know what to do. She was far away from home and far away, she thought, from anyone who could help her.

Once he got into town, it took Edward another few, agonizing minutes to get his bearings. Angela was in a small but comfortable looking home. He saw glimpses of the middle-aged couple she was with, but Angela looked out the window a lot, thankfully. He was able to compare her view with the town and he figure out where she was at. By the time he knocked on the door his family, and Irina and Laurent, had caught up with him.

"Edward, what's going on?" Carlisle asked, dismounting his horse.

Edward didn't answer, gesturing for his father to wait a minute. The door to the small home opened, the middle aged woman from Angela's thoughts peered up at him. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Angela Weber," Edward said, thankful his voice still worked properly and he sounded somewhat polite. He heard the chair scoot across wood floor as Angela got up and then the quick footfalls as she darted to the door. The older woman stepped to the side a second before Angela flung herself into Edward's arms.

"Edward, Edward, oh thank the gods!" Angela cried, holding onto him tightly. He kept his arms wrapped around her as his mind was inundated with her thoughts. Finally in the presence of someone familiar, she had let her guard down almost immediately. The whole of two weeks of terror ran through her head all at once – images and voices and feelings all blending together. In the space of a few heartbeats she was shaking hard; crying into his tunic.

Edward held her, trying to make sense of the images going through her mind, while Carlisle made his introductions to the mystified woman who owned the home. Once she understood what was going on she ushered them all in for something warm to eat and drink. Edward had to carry Angela, who was trembling too hard to stand. As soon as he was in the door he sunk to the floor, Angela in his arms, and he rocked the frightened girl. As much as he was desperate for any news about Bella, Angela was the first tangible thing he could hold onto since Bella had been kidnapped - he needed to hold her as much as she needed to be held.

"B-B-B-," Angela stuttered, desperately trying to get a grip on herself enough to ask the question that had been foremost in her mind for two weeks.

Luckily, her thoughts were clearing, and Edward could see a face clearly in her mind. "Ben is fine. He survived the battle without so much as a scrape. I expect he's in Forkshire, worried sick about you," Edward soothed quickly. He felt badly for not realizing right away what she would need. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the guild and the Knights had ridden out to battle. Angela and Bella had been taken without knowing the outcome of the battle.

As soon as the words had left his mouth Angela went limp in his arms, her relief palpable. She would get to go home to her lover.

Edward could only hope that his story would have a similarly happy ending.

Finally, Angela calmed. "I'm sorry," she said softly, disentangling herself from Edward's arms. He stood and pulled her up with him. Carlisle stood, offering her his seat at the small table. She took a deep breath and then began telling everything she knew.

It was difficult for Edward to see her memories along with her story. Through her eyes, he saw what happened the day of the battle. She had been in the front of the bakery when the woman, Victoria, had grabbed her from behind, putting a hand over her mouth and a blade to her neck. She had only been able to watch James creep toward the back room where Bella was washing, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

He felt an incredible surge of pride, mingled with fury and fear, when Bella retaliated against James. He paced the small room like a caged wildcat as he watched James hurt Bella through Angela's memories. He had seen the bruises on her throat from Alice's visions, but watching James put them there was another torture altogether. His father placed a hand on his shoulder to still his pacing and his snarling.

Angela continued her story. Through Laurent, Edward had already been aware of James' sadistic tendencies. He liked watching his prey break. Angela recalled waking, hearing Bella call Edward's name as she mumbled in her sleep. Over and over. James must have picked up on it as well because Angela became aware that he was using it to terrorize her. Bella's weakness was in the people she loved and James exploited it to tear down her defenses. He threatened Angela's body to keep Bella complacent, and threatened Edward's life to get under her skin.

They didn't learn much they hadn't already known. Angela confirmed that it was James who had brought the undead scourge down upon the town, for no other purpose than to obtain Bella. He had hinted that his financier was female and unstable to say the least - it fit with Laurent's story of James being called before Lady Jane. Angela also had her suspicions of what James was up to when Victoria would take her away from their camp to get cleaned up. She remembered the first time - when she had come back to find Bella on her knees, sobbing into one hand. Bella had sworn she wasn't hurt, but then Angela remembered discovering the back of her dress was open.

"I don't think... I'm sure he didn't hurt her like that," Angela hurried to assure Edward.

"He didn't," Edward responded through clenched teeth. "Alice had visions. He was terrorizing her, but he never fulfilled his threats." Esme stood and Edward let her wrap her arms around him, letting his mother's love calm the impotent rage he felt. He reminded himself that this is what he'd prayed and begged for - a shred of something - anything that meant he could mark as progress in getting Bella back.

Truthfully, it wasn't much he didn't already know - but it helped fill in a few more missing pieces.

"The last thing I remember was riding yesterday. It was around midday. I saw Bella struggling to keep awake and I was so tired. I woke up in a haystack here."

"James favored a heavy sleeping potion when he needed to keep his quarry alive and unharmed," Laurent commented, recalling the mixture of herbs that James always kept in his pack.

The same thought sounded in Carlisle, Jasper, Alice and Edward's heads. Why had Angela been left alive? She was a loose end, to say the least.

Before they could ponder any further Alice suddenly gasped.

A vision flashed through her mind - a still image of the very immediate future. Bella on her back with a knife in her hand; James above her, the knife about to plunge into his side.

Another gasp, though Edward couldn't be sure if it was Alice's or his own, and the image fluctuated. James was slumped over, his body looking limp across Bella's. Bella's eyes were wide with shock.

Three more times the image fluctuated - showing Bella and James in different positions in the room they were in. Always Bella had the knife. Always it ended the same - with James' body at an unnatural angle - his blood spilling.

Edward should have been glad. He should have been proud. He should have been relieved.

Instead his heart started to pound so quick and loud he thought it would beat straight out of his chest. His fists clenched and he let out a strangled cry of despair, falling to his knees, even as Alice started to chant, "No, no, no."

Jasper, Carlisle and Esme's faces fell, Esme's going white as bone. "Oh no. Bella...she's not...," Esme could not finish her sentence.

"No," Alice answered, her voice far away. She leaned into Jasper's embrace. "No... she killed him. Ma. She killed James."

Esme gasped; Carlisle and Jasper's eyes widened; Irina and Laurent dropped their heads. Only Angela looked confused. She didn't understand why this was a bad thing.

Edward remembered, a lifetime ago it seemed - when he was still trying to deny his attraction and need for Bella - the day they'd talked about Volterra. He remembered that day with perfect clarity because it had been the day they first kissed; the day he stopped fighting what he felt for her. He remembered what he'd told her about Volterra's one unbreakable rule. He echoed his words from before, for Angela's sake, though there was no life in his tone. "You don't commit murder in Volterra- under any circumstances. Not unless you want to die."

In Alice's mind, the vision that had plagued them both since the day they'd met Bella became solid. Instead of being a possible future, it became undeniable fact. The image had changed somewhat. It had become more true to life. Bella wore the same clothing she had on in the vision with James. Her hair was disheveled and her clothing rumpled. Blood was everywhere - spattered across her clothing like a child's nonsensical drawing; smeared across her cheek and caked on her hands. Her hands were shackled behind her back, as always, and she stared up at Aro with defiance in her eyes as Demetri and Felix kept their hands on her shoulders.

The imminent and unavoidable future.

"No," Edward said, shaking his head vehemently. He was on his feet and running again. But Carlisle had been expecting it. He grabbed his son's arm, tugging him back before he could get to the door. "Let me go!" Edward demanded, trying to shake his father's hold.

"Son, please," Carlisle said, trying to bring Edward down from his panic with no success.

"No!" Edward protested. "I waited all this time. I slowed down. I slept. I did as you asked."

"You have to think, Edward. You know you have to think before you act here. Aro wouldn't have gone through all this trouble just to kill her now," Jasper said, but even as he spoke Alice went stiff in his arms.

Another vision passed through her mind. It was another still moment, and Edward staggered under the overwhelming horror that swept over him. Of all the abhorrent images that he'd ever held in his head, this one threatened to cut loose the binds of sanity. In the vision, Bella lay across a stone slab. Her eyes were closed. Her face was stained in the ashy pallor of death. There were very neat incisions at her pulse points - at her wrists and across her neck.

It was a glimpse of a not too distant future. It was the Volturi's chosen execution method - death by exsanguination.

"Edward," Esme started, reaching for him, "It's going to be alrig-."

He cut her off, recoiling from his mother's touch as if he had been burned. All of his frustration and anger from the past two weeks came out in a rush at perhaps the one person who least deserved it. "Don't tell me it's going to be alright, because you don't know! That's what we told Billy Black all those years ago. And we couldn't protect her. We couldn't stop it from happening. It happened to his wife. It happened to so many wives and husbands and lovers and children. It's not going to happen to Bella. I can't lose her, I can't."

He sat down heavily, bringing his knees up to his chest and burying his face in his hands. His whole body shook with the helplessness he felt. It was maddening to sit here knowing she was still alive and in trouble. It was maddening to have no good solution. No clear enemy he could fight with his sword and his fists. No way of knowing how to talk her out of this situation. Just a glimpse of a fate he had no way of knowing how to prevent.

Almost as soon as he had sunk to the floor he was standing again. "I'm going. Come with me or don't, but I won't be away from her any longer."

He did not wait for their answer but sprinted to the door and out.

If he could prevent the image that was burned into his memory, he would. He would do whatever it took.

If he could not he would find a way to follow Bella, because the one thing he was sure of in all of this mess was that he would not be without her again. Ever.

**So…yea. **

**First, to my Melly – Dizzygrl28 who you can find under my favorite authors. She is my muse and my beta and … well, I love her. **

**Second, you may want to check out Fate's Seduction – an AU of my FR world written by CellaCullen…who I also couldn't live without but who is probably at least partly responsible for my plot bunny infestation problem. A link to Fate's Seduction is in my profile. **

**Thanks for waiting and reading! Let me know how you feel!**


	11. The Penalty for Murder

**Chapter 11 – The Penalty for Murder**

**A/n – If the family ties get confusing there is a family tree in my profile.**

**Disclaimer: Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's backyard for a while. Twilight is all hers.**

With panic in her eyes, Victoria ran across the room. Bella could only watch, her mind blank with shock as she skittered backward like a crab, startling when her back came in contact with a wall. Calling his name frantically, Victoria leaned over James, her hands trying to find where he was hurt; her fingers going to his neck to check for a pulse.

Seconds went by; James' head lolled lifelessly to the side as Victoria tried to stir him. He would not be stirred.

Victoria let out a shrill cry and then whirled on Bella. "You've killed him!" With an animalistic cry of fury, Victoria threw herself at Bella. Instinct and Jasper's training sent Bella into a protective ball, her hands over her head as Victoria came at her like a jungle cat - all sharp claws and wild screaming. The sharp pain of Victoria's nails digging cruelly into her flesh sharpened Bella's focus. She wrapped a hand around the woman's wrist, searching for the pressure point. Victoria seemed to be trying to claw Bella's throat from her neck with her bare hands.

There was shouting and a scuffle. Suddenly the room was very crowded and noisy. Two men Bella had never seen before dragged Victoria off of her. The woman flailed in the men's arms, her hands outstretched and ready to be back at Bella's throat. At some point during their wrestling, Bella had landed on her back. She rolled to the side and onto her feet, standing too quickly. She had to steady herself with a hand on the wall, still woozy from the drugs and coming off the adrenaline rush. Every instinct in her was telling her to run as far away and as fast as possible, but she couldn't. She was between the bed and the wall, and the only way out was blocked by a rapidly increasing number of people.

"What's going on here?!" a man with a booming voice shouted. He looked from the struggling Victoria to James' bloodied body to Bella. His eyes went wide, the anger in them draining to shock.

Looking around at the other faces, she noticed that shock was the paramount emotion. They were all staring, slack-jawed, at the corpse on the floor.

"She has murdered my husband," Victoria shrieked, her face red and livid.

That loosened the hold of the cat that had Bella's tongue. "No!" she protested, one of her hands balling into a tight fist by her side.

"You deny this with a body on the floor and blood on your hands?" the loud man was getting angry again.

"I would not call it murder when he was attacking me," Bella snapped, defensive against the accusing eyes that were all staring at her. "He was intent on raping me."

"Liar!" Victoria screamed. "James would not do that."

Bella turned away from the red-head's burning eyes. She looked up at the angry man. "They've held me against my will for two weeks. They killed my friend."

The man's glare twitched the slightest bit. "That is of no consequence to me. It is out of my hands." He turned to a scrawny teenage boy. "Go fetch the guards," he commanded.

"The guards are already on their way," Victoria said, slightly calmer than she had been just moments before. "I went to get them while James waited with her. She is wanted - that's why we had her. They should be here shortly." Victoria looked to Bella again, her face twisting with hate. As she spoke the next words, her voice continued to raise until she was screaming them. "I should have let him kill you that first day. Now, I hope I will be the one to put you to your rightful death."

Before Bella could respond there was a rustle in the crowd. "Clear the way," a deep, smooth voice commanded from the hallway. The small crowd in the room instantly parted, the murmurs turning from the anger and shock that had peppered their reaction to Bella, to relief.

Two men stood in the doorway. They each wore a tabard with a wide 'V' in the crest. One of them was terrifyingly large. His shoulders were broader than even Emmett's, and he lacked the wide, dimpled smile that Emmett typically wore. His eyes held none of the friendliness.

But as imposing as he was, it was the second man that had her attention. Lean and muscular, Bella had no doubt that he was a strong and capable fighter. However, it was his eyes that had her gasping, her world becoming even more surreal. As soon as he had stepped through the door his eyes had swept the room, assessing the situation. He'd spotted Bella and his eyes had snapped to hers. That's when she gasped.

They were green.

The exact shade of green of Edward's eyes.

Her heart twisted, and the ache in her chest that was her ever-present longing for Edward intensified to the point she could barely breathe through the agony. She didn't know why the stranger's eyes brought out such a strong response. There had been a thousand different things that had reminded her of Edward in the long days she'd been kept away from him. None of them had triggered this. It wasn't as if it were the same. The stranger's eyes were cool and calculating. Edward's eyes, when they looked on her, were soft and warm - filled with the adoration and love he had for her.

For a long moment it was maddening - this inability to fill the huge hole that had been punched through her chest. She wrapped an arm around her midsection, trying not to feel like she was falling apart. She was terrified and confused and on the defense. She wanted to finally wake up from this nightmare, safe in his arms.

At that moment, she was many things, but delusional was not one of them. She forced herself to concentrate; to think past the pain to hear what was being said now.

The green-eyed guard had turned to Victoria. "I assume you were the one who sent the summons?" he asked, voice calm. "You did not mention a murder had been committed."

Victoria's face seemed to pinch up and she finally shook free of the two men who were holding her back. "When I sent for you, my husband was very much alive. I returned to find him dead, and this murderer," she pointed a long finger at Bella, "standing over him with a dagger." Rage was the primary emotion on her face and in her voice, but there was pain as well. She had genuinely loved James.

"Felix," the green-eyed man said, nodding in Bella's direction.

The broad shouldered man, Felix, looked her up and down once before striding toward her purposefully. Bella balked against the wall, but she had no where to go. "I didn't-," she began, but Felix cut her off.

"Your testimony is unnecessary, murderess. Frankly, I would prefer not to hear a word from you," he said, grabbing her by her arm and yanking her roughly away from the wall. He spun her, wrenching her arms back painfully. Bella gasped, her knees bucking slightly, making her stumble forward. Only Felix's iron grip on her arm kept her from falling to her knees.

She felt the first prick of frustrated tears begin to gather in her eyes. She concentrated on the flame of anger that still burned in her, holding onto it and feeding it until it overpowered the fear that was attempting to cloud her mind again. She heard the green-eyed guard tell Victoria to come with them. She felt cold metal on her skin before she processed that she was being put into iron shackles. "I would have come willingly," she said over her shoulder at Felix, pleased that her voice didn't tremble, though her heart had started to pound again.

"Procedure, you understand," Felix responded, his voice laced with sarcasm. With the shackles securely on her wrists, Felix grabbed hold of her arm again, spinning her around and pushing her forward. "Now move."

Bella took in all the faces around her for the first time and felt heat rise to her cheeks automatically. They were glaring at her, every one of them. The looks on their faces varied from revulsion to contempt to outright hate. She had never seen such hostility in a crowd of people before and had certainly not been subjected to such animosity personally. She saw not one kind or sympathetic face. Even the couple of children who were peering in from the hallway looked disgusted, their faces mirroring that of the adults around them. Bella dropped her eyes to the floor, the frustrated tears threatening again.

She tried to force herself to calm down. Let them haul her wherever they were taking her to. There would be someone there she could explain this whole mess to. There would be a way out of this.

"Please," she said, making her voice respectful and soft as the green-eyed guard fell into step beside her, "Where are you taking me?"

He glanced at her, his eyebrow raised and one hand behind his back like a distinguished gentleman might walk. "Don't you know where you are?"

She shook her head, keeping her eyes on her feet, feeling more out of balance than usual with her arms bound behind her back.

The green-eyed guard chuckled. "That explains a lot, at least. Not many are foolish enough to commit a murder here," he murmured before answering her question. "You will be taken before my father, Lord Aro, the leader of Volterra."

Volterra. Aro. Instantly Bella's blood ran cold and she stopped walking. Of course...she should have known when she heard the larger guard being called Felix. She should have known when the green-eyed guard reminded her so much of Edward...he did have Edward's eyes. He must be Demetri. Felix and Demetri - Aro's sons by Jane.

Felix shook her arm harshly. "Are you going to move or am I going to have to make you?" he said threateningly, looking like he preferred the latter.

"At ease, brother," Demetri said smoothly. "I think the girl has just figured out how much trouble she's actually in."

***

The twenty minute ride across the city did little to alleviate the trepidation growing in Bella's stomach. In the broad daylight, the people of the town showed absolutely no sympathy toward her. At least now she understood why. Edward had told her more than once about Volterra and its citizens. There was no crime in Volterra, and murder was responded to in only one way - death.

Of course, she was terribly frightened. Death by exsanguination didn't sound like a pleasant way to die, but she also worried about Alice. Surely, Alice had seen a vision of this by now.

And if Alice had seen it, Edward would have seen it.

If they were still alive.

Bella pushed the thought away, knowing she could not afford her tears now. She needed her wits about her. She was, once again, positive that Aro had been behind her abduction in some way. Hopefully that meant he would have a vested interest in keeping her alive.

She wasn't entirely sure what to wish for. On the one hand, if Aro did find some excuse to keep her alive, it would likely only be in order to manipulate Edward and his family. She would much rather die a thousand deaths than have that happen. However, if he and Alice were safe they would, doubtless, see her death. They would come - to rescue her or avenge her. She remembered Edward's constant worry. The vision that had remained in Alice's head all these long months had tortured him because his grandfather was so very powerful. He could not hope to fight them. It was a battle he would not win.

How to get out of this without endangering him, or any of the Cullens - that was the primary thought on Bella's mind as she was carted through the streets of Volterra. She hated the lack of control. She hated that she could not protect herself, let alone her family.

She was still so terribly confused. Everything in the room had happened so fast. For the life of her, Bella could not remember striking James so hard as to kill him. The dagger was very short. It didn't seem like it was big enough to do enough damage to kill a person. Then again, she couldn't say that she remembered exactly what had happened. She remembered James on top of her, his hands on her as he threatened to take Edward's life. She remembered that she had been reaching for the dagger he'd carelessly left just barely in reach. She remembered closing her fingers around it, and swinging, but not much else.

She sighed, wishing she could rub her eyes. They stung from the tears she would not allow to fall. She concentrated, instead, on remembering all that Edward had told her of Aro. He was manipulative, and very smart. He also had the ability to read all the thoughts you ever had by touch. Bella shuddered, knowing, once he touched her, he would have any memory he wanted - everything - hear weaknesses, her strengths, her joy...every private moment with Edward.

Again, she shook off the frustration and anger that was building in her. There was nothing she could do about it now. Alice's vision would come to pass. Besides, if Aro could see all of her thoughts he could also see James' taunting. She had no idea if that meant anything in this place, but it was something to hope for.

The wagon ground to a halt inside the gates of the largest building she'd ever seen - the Forkshire castle would only be a bedroom in this place.

She was out of time. Felix retrieved her from the wagon, holding her arm much harder than was necessary as she jumped to the ground. Demetri fell into step on the other side of her, Victoria trailing behind.

Bella felt more and more anxious the deeper they got into the castle. It was not lost on her how she must look. Her hands were itchy and sticky with dried blood that she could feel flaking off as she clenched her fingers. She knew she must have looked a mess. She looked the part of the murderer caught literally red-handed.

They came to a pair of gigantic, ornate gold doors. Demetri opened them, and Felix had to give her a push inside, her trepidation apparently making her too slow for him.

The room was filled with milling people. In the center, toward the back of the room, there were three thrones. She barely saw the men on either side throne, nor did she see the other people gathered. Bella's eyes were immediately drawn to the man in the middle throne. He had been leaning on one of the arms of the chair, talking to a petite woman. He turned toward them as Bella was led inside. She had to gasp. Alice's eyes stared back at her; the man's face framed by long hair the exact same shade. His eyes lit with recognition.

"Isabella," he breathed, so low that it was almost a hiss.

Her eyes widened. Before she could stutter out her question, Felix and Demetri dropped to their knees, taking her down with them.

"Please, rise," Aro said, sounding both eager and confused. He looked between his sons, "What is the meaning of this? Why is she in shackles?" He seemed genuinely upset.

"My Lord," Victoria said, stepping forward. "She has murdered my husband, James."

"James," Aro repeated. He looked back to Bella and, again, Bella struggled to keep her composure. Alice's eyes and Edward's eyes in this place where she felt anything but safe and loved...it was almost too much. "Is this true, Bella?"

Somehow it seemed wrong for him to use her familiar name. Again she held onto the flicker of anger, finding it easier to appear strong. "He was about to rape me. He and Victoria have held me and my friend prisoner against our will. They killed her."

"That would explain what you're doing so far away from your home, but why on earth would you end up in the hands of bounty hunters?" Aro wondered aloud.

The woman by his side cleared her throat and all faces turned toward her. She looked young - perhaps a few years older than Edward at the most. Her face, Bella noted, was like an angel's, but her eyes, as they rested briefly on Bella, sparked with a deep malevolence. Bella shuddered, knowing who she was instantly from Esme's stories. Jane, Aro's second wife - the eternally youthful witch. "I can explain that. I hired James and Victoria to bring Bella to us. I wanted to surprise you."

"You could have extended an invitation," Bella snapped before she could help it. "Instead you sent murderers after me? They incited a battle with the undead that could have destroyed the entire town. They kept my friend Angela and I bound, and James threatened our bodies if we did not obey." She was furious.

At her side, Felix suddenly dug his fingers into her arm, gripping her painfully. Bella cried out once before silencing her pain. "You will address my mother with respect," Felix commanded.

"That's enough, Felix," Aro said, his voice firm. Immediately, Felix released her. Bella looked back at Aro to see he was looking at Victoria. "Please, your hand," he requested mildly, holding out his hand.

Victoria balked. "I have done nothing wrong here. It is she who was caught with a dagger in hand over my husband's body!" she protested.

"Nevertheless, I will have your side of the story. I would like to see what happened from your perspective. I want to know if Bella's allegations are true," Aro gestured expectantly with his hand.

She must have realized she had no choice. Reluctantly, Victoria put her hand in his.

For long moments there was only silence. Knowing what was going on, Bella took the time to take in more of the room. The other thrones were occupied by a bored looking man who was not paying them the slightest bit of attention, and a rather grumpy looking man Bella knew must be Caius, as he had, again, Edward's familiar green eyes. He looked at her, annoyed, and Bella averted her gaze.

"Hmm, I cannot say your actions to distract the Cullen's in Forkshire please me, but that is not my Kingdom to rule." Aro said, perhaps a bit regretfully.

Victoria bowed slightly. "As you no doubt saw, my Lord, I expected her to be a common criminal - what with the Lady Jane being interested in bringing her back here. I expected she would keep similar company."

"A regrettable error, and not the girl's fault, Aro," Jane said primly. "I did not tell James, when I spoke to him, that she was not a criminal." She eyed Bella with disdain. "Though, it would seem that it would not have been an untrue label."

"Intriguing, how easily words can be misconstrued." Aro turned to Bella, looking regretful. "The scene Victoria walked in on is quite damning indeed. I did not see James looking at or threatening you in a carnal fashion."

"Nor would he," Victoria said, quick to defend her love.

"He was sure to only make advances on me when you were away from the camp," Bella snapped at Victoria. She turned back at Aro, "Angela-," she began.

"You'll be pleased, I believe, to know that Angela Weber is not dead. They left her, very much alive, in the small town just outside of Volterra's gates," Aro informed her. He stood, and stepped forward off the dais to stand directly in front of her. Bella instinctively shrank back, not knowing if he would kill her right then and there. He put his hand out. "I happen to know that you are important to my grandson, which is why my wife knew I had an interest in meeting you. Such a waste that it would end like this. Are you aware of how my gift works?"

Bella nodded minutely, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart was hammering out of control. Everything in her screamed at the thought of letting him touch her, but she knew she had no choice.

"Then I will have your story now," he said, satisfied. He put a hand to her cheek, cupping it as if he were her own grandsire. Bella closed her eyes, willing the memories of James' hands on her body and his threatening words float to the surface. She didn't know how much her present thoughts mattered, but figured it wouldn't hurt.

A moment passed, and then Aro's hand fell from her cheek. "What trickery is this?" he demanded.

Bella's eyes fluttered open. "What?" He was staring at her, his eyes no longer kind, but sparked with irritation.

"If there is one thing I do not tolerate in my court, is lying. No one lies to me, Isabella Swan. You will tell me how you've kept your thoughts silent from me." Aro was obviously livid though his tone never changed from its even cadence.

Fear made her tremble. She knew, from the Cullen's stories and because she could see it in his eyes, that this man was dangerous. Now he was angry. "I'm not trying to." She tried to speak calmly but her voice shook a bit. "There's no trick," she insisted.

Aro studied her face and backed up, taking his seat again, though his eyes never left her. "How curious, though, that you could not overpower your captors for the many long days they held you...yet here you are, accused of murdering one of them." He steepled his hands. "You're hiding something. A plot of some sort."

Bella stared at him, incredulous. "Your wife sent them to get me. They took me from my place of business by bodily force, surely you saw that? If this were some plot, I would have come to you. I have nothing to hide."

"My grandson - he cannot hear your thoughts either?" Aro asked after a moment.

Again, Bella started, not knowing where he got all this information. Just how much did he know about her? She shook her head carefully. "Edward," it felt wrong to say his name here, almost profane, "has never been able to read my thoughts."

He continued to stare at her in an unnerving way, but it was Caius who spoke then. "Aro, in all these years you have never had a being thwart your power, yet this child comes from nowhere and she is able to evade you?" Caius shook his head, leveling his glare back at Bella. "No, she must be working for someone. If not a plot against us, then a plot against your daughter and her family."

Bella's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Aro was looking at her with hard eyes. "Believe me when I tell you, dear Bella, I will allow no one to hurt my dear ones, regardless of the unfortunate way they regard me."

"No. I would never-"

He raised a hand. "It is a moot point. You have committed a murder in my city and you are summarily sentenced to death for it. Your execution will be carried out in two weeks time."

There was a gasp throughout the throne room. Bella felt her knees threaten to give out on her again. She'd broken out in a cold sweat.

It was Victoria who protested first. "Two weeks! My Lord, that is two weeks longer than she gave my husband."

Aro leveled a calm gaze on Victoria and she fell silent. "I know you are bereft and so I will excuse your questioning. Please rest assured, you will see justice served."

"What is the meaning of this, Aro? You have never stayed an execution before," Caius protested next.

"As you pointed out, brother, no one has ever successfully hidden their thoughts from me. I cannot take the chance she is hiding a danger to all of us. Two weeks will give us adequate time to figure out how she is doing it." Aro had steepled his hands again and was staring at her, his look curious again.

Bella's heart beat in double time. Two weeks was also long enough for Edward to get here, if he was not near already. The half frustrated, half inquisitive look on his face told her that he was honestly curious about why her mind was silent, but he was no fool. He had said he knew that she was special to Edward. He had to have known that Edward would come as soon as he knew clearly where she was.

Fury spread through her without her having to prompt it this time. She narrowed her eyes and took two steps toward Aro before Felix and Demetri tightened their grips on her arms. She struggled violently until they forced her to her knees. She stared up at Aro with hatred in her eyes. "You accuse me of plotting against the Cullen's who are _my _family much more than you have a right to call them yours. Blood is a meaningless tie when your only intent is to manipulate them to suit your will. I love them. I would rather die than let you control them."

Though Felix and Demetri's fingers bit painfully into her skin, and the rest of the gathered Volturi were either glaring or gasping at her audacity, Aro merely grinned. He sighed, wistful. "It is a sadness that you chose to murder in my city. Your tenacity and spirit could have been put to such better use among us, if that had been your choice. And I do not wish to bring such sorrow to my grandson." He sighed, again. "Chelsea," he called without turning away from Bella.

A woman who looked similar to the bored looking man - who Bella knew must be Marcus - stepped to Aro's side. "Yes?"

"Please see to it that Bella gets cleaned up. Then alert Felix and Demetri and they will transport her to the prison." He turned back to Bella who was still on her knees, glaring up at him and struggling to loosen the guard's hold on her. "You will cooperate with Chelsea, young one. My sons are very capable in dealing with uncooperative prisoners, but I would rather they did not have to."

Realizing she had little choice, Bella slumped, ceasing her struggles. She could not force their hand. It was all out of her control. Also, she felt an odd pull toward Aro, something that seemed to forge a bond to him, making her want to comply to his will. She remembered, belatedly, what Esme had told her of Chelsea's gifts. She could strengthen or loosen relationships. Bella held onto her fury. She would obey, but for her own reasons. She could do little but give Felix and Demetri a reason to beat her into submission - something Alice and therefore Edward were sure to see. She would not subject them, or herself, to that for no gain.

***

Less than an hour later she was clean of all the blood that had stained her skin. Chelsea had provided a simple linen dress, befitting of her criminal status. Some vain part of her wondered if they would cut her hair, as was often the case in the prisons, but, to her relief, no one approached her with shears.

The wagon ride to the prison was much shorter. The linen dress itched and her hands were still shackled behind her back. She heard Edward's voice in her memories. _"How do you sleep in this?" _He had asked as he bunched her linen nightgown in his hands.

After that night, he had come through on his promise to buy her silk gowns. She had protested but had eventually acquiesced. The silk felt so lovely on her skin. Now the linen she had never minded before felt too course and made her squirm as she sat, unable to scratch.

She was trying so desperately to contain her fear. For her family, who she knew had to be close by if they were not dead from the battle James had started.

Of course, she was afraid for herself. She had no idea as to what lengths Aro would go to to figure out how her mind worked; or rather, why his power did not work on it. She was sentenced to die as it was, she had no doubts he was crazy enough to try to pick apart her brain from the outside in. He seemed the type to cut open a living thing just to see how it worked.

She was led into a building, and then down a dark, spiraling staircase, to where the walls were made of packed dirt rather than stone or wood. The air here was thick with the smell of stale urine, blood and sweat. It was, Bella thought, exactly what fear smelt like. Her chest seemed to tighten, making it difficult to breathe.

The bottom of the staircase was a simple room. There was no light, save for the torch Demetri held in his hand and one or two more on the wall. It was barely enough to make out that the room was lined with cells - each of them little more than a cramped space with long metal bars where one of the walls should have been. Though there were about twelve or so cells that Bella could count, they all seemed empty, except for one where a small body crouched, rocking back and forth on the dirty floor.

She guessed that not many would dare commit any crime within the city limits.

Bella was unceremoniously shoved into the nearest cell, but at least they removed the shackles first. Demetri turned away without a word, but Felix took the time to leer at her. "I'll be back for you soon," he said threateningly. Bella shuddered, wondering vaguely how that man, with his sneer and malicious attitude, could be Esme's half brother.

It was only minutes, as Bella felt her way around the cell, searching for some weak spot, before she heard steps on the staircase. She quickly pressed herself into the corner of the cell, sliding down the wall and wrapping her arms around her legs.

It was Lady Jane who stepped onto the landing.

Lady Jane with her vicious smile and a look in her eye that promised she was plotting something devious.

Instinctively, Bella wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

But there was nowhere to go.

***

The furious tempo of Jane's shoes as she walked briskly down the hallway toward their bedroom, alerted Aro to his wife's displeasure. Sure enough, she burst into the room with a scowl on her typically angelic face.

"I take it your conversation with Bella did not go well?" Aro asked, both disappointed and intrigued.

Jane, Aro had found, was useful in gleaning information from reluctant prisoners. Among her many talents, she was skilled at making poppets - simple cloth dolls that she could manipulate to cause the most horrendous pain a person could feel.

She had demonstrated her powers on the other prisoner - an unfortunate little urchin named Maria who had attempted to pick-pocket enough for a meal. The girl had writhed and screamed while Bella pleaded for Jane to stop.

Then Jane had turned the poppet on her.

"She felt nothing, Aro. How is that possible?" she demanded, seething. Like Aro, Jane's gifts had never failed her before.

Unlike Aro, she did not bother to wonder why, or if this was a power that could be harnessed and used. Instead, she simply felt bloodlust. Though she had gone through great pains to ensure that Bella arrived here alive and intact, she now wanted nothing more than to spill her blood herself.

However, even Jane was respectful enough of Aro that she would not go against his wishes to that extent.

"How fascinating," Aro murmured, oblivious or not bothered by his wife's bristling.

She tried another tactic. "The girl is obviously dangerous. You should put her to her well earned death quickly, Aro. You know the townspeople are already talking. For a prisoner to be kept alive this long...it's unprecedented."

This was a concern of his. James' murder had been rather public, and he was well aware people were talking. They depended on him to keep murderers away from their city. However, they also trusted him. Of all people, Jane should know that. She and Alec had been the only other people who had ever escaped an immediate death after killing within the city limits. "What a terrible waste it is, though," Aro said absently. "She has such potential. Perhaps the greatest potential I've seen since you and Alec, my dear one."

Jane only barely bit her tongue, her anger coming to a boil inside of her. She took a calming breath, trying a pleading tone. "Please, Aro. For me," she said, touching his arm and looking into his eyes. "I want that girl dead."

"Jane," he said, his voice tender. He stroked her alabaster cheek with the pads of his fingers. "I will take care of her as I see fit, and that's final."

They continued to argue, not realizing that a figure lurked in the hallway, listening to every word they said.

As large and arrogant as he was, Felix had always been second best in his parent's eyes. Aro and Jane both coveted Demetri's talent. Felix, having no such talent, had always struggled to compare. His mother so rarely showed any sort of maternal pride, but when she had, it had always been directed at Demetri. As a result, Felix was constantly searching for a way to get into his mother's favor.

What he knew now was that his mother wanted Bella Swan dead.

If his father proved to be unwilling when the time came, Felix would find a way to make it happen.

**This is, as usual, dedicated to my lovely Melly, aka Dizzygrl28. I've written a rather fun little o/s with her and CellaCullen that was rec'ed on PPSS – which, really, just… blows my mind. Have a read. You can find a link to it in my profile.**

**Please let me know how I'm doing here. I know I get distracted, but Fate's Recipe is still my baby. My first fic. /sniffle. **


	12. What Ifs

**A/N: I'm not going to give you any excuses. I'm sorry about the way this story is updating. The truth of the matter is that it's like pulling teeth. The characters WILL NOT talk to me most times. I know how the story ends and what I want to do, it just won't flow at all. Sigh. So I'm giving this to you as it comes. Thank you so much for your patience, those of you who are still with me. I think there are, perhaps, three chapters left before the end.**

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

The noises in Edward's mind were deafening.

First there were his own emotions - the maddening frustration, the physical need to have her in his arms again...the sheer terror that was bigger and stronger than anything he had ever known. Not even when Emmett lay dying had he been this scared. He felt like he was on the verge of hyperventilating - his chest tight to the point he couldn't breathe.

He was running in survival mode - because if Bella died he was certain he couldn't survive. Oh, he was aware that his body would betray him and continue to live. His own death would be agonizingly slow because his family would be watching. They wouldn't understand, but they would be his torturers. The guilt alone would be too much to bear if he was responsible, through whatever domino effect, for her death. Going back to life without her bright presence would be empty, dark and all the more unfathomable because the hole she left in her absence would be impossible to heal - leaving him with a void that was the worst pain imaginable.

As if his own thoughts weren't enough, his mind was also full of their voices.

_Edward, don't._

Please, son, please think this through.

Rushing in there would be a mistake of epic proportions and I thought you were done making mistakes.

He gave her - and us - two weeks, Edward. Look_._

Edward, stop_._

He let out a growl of utter frustration

Whatever was left of the logical side of his mind called out to the panicking side whose instinct told him to run fast and finally close the distance between him and Bella. It sided with his family, trying to get him to slow down again. This was the part of him that had weathered countless emergencies with a calm presence and a clear head. He was a warrior and a natural strategist. He had never gone into any battle headfirst and eyes closed because everything he'd been taught told him that was a sure way to get yourself and anyone who followed you killed.

Though it felt so wrong that his body screamed and his insides twisted, Edward brought his horse to a sudden halt.

He could hear the relief in his parent's thoughts. Jasper was similarly relieved, but his thoughts centered around Alice. It wasn't that he wasn't worried about Bella - far from it. However, he knew that Edward's actions, should he have thrown himself at Aro's eager feet, very well could have cost Alice her freedom as well. Edward could not begrudge him his preoccupation with Alice's safety. He knew that he wasn't as concerned for his sister's welfare as he should be; as he would be under normal dealing with someone like Aro, it was difficult to tell exactly how much you lost when he gained even an inch. Already he had too much power over all of them with Bella in his hands.

As soon as he'd stopped, Alice had gone straight back into furiously searching, trying to find something in the future that gave them some clue as to how to get out of this mess with their family in tact.

Rounding out the group, Laurent and Irina still held back. They were both uncertain what to think. Though they had abandoned him, James and Victoria had been the only companions Laurent had known for too many years for him not to be torn about James' death. He dwelled on it - remembering James as absolutely lethal and wondering how a girl of Bella's extremely minimal training could have gotten the best of him. Irina was trying to dismiss the guilt she had for her part in this. She had not sought out Aro to give him the information that led to this chain of events. She still did not see him as someone to fear - believing the Cullens should stop acting so ridiculous, as if he would snatch them up like mice in a trap, and simply go talk to the man.

Edward growled again, leveling a glower at his cousin. She had come because she wanted to help and that line of thought was not helpful.

Needing something to do with his excess energy, Edward quickly dismounted and started to pace. The others followed suit, gathering around him.

"Two weeks?" he asked, his voice rough.

Alice glanced up at him, her hands rubbing her temples. She showed him a vision she'd had that he'd missed in his panic. Aro's eyes, cold and hard as he sentenced Bella, "_Your execution will be carried out in two weeks time,_" while she looked on with vague horror on her face. Edward shuddered - the words sounding too final coming from his grandfather's too powerful lips.

"Two weeks?" Carlisle asked, confused as to the context of his children's conversation.

"In my vision, Aro said Bella's execution was to be carried out in two weeks," Alice explained quietly. Anticipating the next question from all the shocked faces around her she continued, "I didn't catch the why."

"I've never heard of an execution not being carried out immediately," Laurent said.

"To my knowledge, it's only happened once," Carlisle replied. He looked up, locking eyes with Esme. "You would be too young to remember, but Aro's wife Lady Jane and her twin brother Alec were convicted of many murders. Their executions were not carried out immediately, and a week or so later Aro claimed to have them on the road to rehabilitation."

"Two weeks gives Aro enough time to figure out a way to keep her alive," Jasper pointed out.

"It's also enough time for me ... for us to get to Volterra from most anywhere in the continent," Edward said thickly. Aro and Jane both would have known how important Bella was to their family or they would not have had her taken in the first place. They would have known that, as soon as Alice's visions told them where she was, they would have been en route, if they were not near the city already.

Edward growled again, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. There were too many missing pieces to put together any sort of coherent strategy. Aro was waiting for them - this much was clear. He didn't like the feeling of running straight into his hands when he was holding all the cards. Yet it was all he wanted to do - if it got him back to Bella.

His father's hand on his shoulder stopped Edward's frantic pacing. "I think it's best if you let your mother and I do what we came to do, son," Carlisle said, holding Edward's eyes with his own.

"It should be me," Edward said raggedly. He felt like every aspect of his life was dependent on a dice roll – and they were all snake eyes. There was no good option here. No right or preferred course. He wanted Bella safe, but now that he faced the reality that his parent's would be walking right up to Aro he didn't want them anywhere near his grandfather either. "This is my fault, and my responsibility. You should let me go to him. I'm part of what he wants, after all."

"No, Edward," his mother protested, shaking her head. "What purpose would it serve to play into his hands?"

Edward stopped pacing to glare at his mother. "What purpose? In trade for Bella's freedom, for her _life, _my own life is a small price to pay. She is entirely innocent - which is something I can't say for myself. I've lived the life of a soldier. I've killed-."

"In battle," Carlisle interjected. "In defense of others."

"Regardless, more blood is on my hands than will ever be on hers. Either way, it is beside the point." Edward's hands raked through his hair in agitation. "This is my fault. I knew. Alice saw this possibility from the very moment we met. That future never changed because I was never strong enough to stay away from her. If only I had...she would be in her bakery now, safe from my _family,_" he sneered the word in disgust, "Who would use her as a pawn or put her to death for defending herself against a monster they forced on her!"

He sunk to the ground, his head down almost to his knees and his hands pulling at his long hair. Carlisle and Esme came to sit on either side of him, their arms around him, and he let them comfort him. "Edward," Esme began slowly, "Do you blame me for marrying your father?"

Perplexed, Edward looked up at his mother. "Of course not. Why would I?"

"When I left Volterra, I left knowing how manipulative my father was. I left knowing that he was curious about mixing our genetic lines. Yet I married your father, and had Emmett, you and Alice, knowing full well that if you were gifted, and the likelihood was that you would be, Aro would want you. By your own logic, should you not blame me for that?" Esme asked, her voice gentle and sad.

"That's not....You wouldn't...." Edward began. He closed his eyes, but as much as he wanted to argue, he couldn't. At least, not logically. He shook his head. "That's not the same. I could have spared her this. It was my choice."

"It was hers too," Carlisle pointed out. "You told her about the vision and what did she tell you?"

Edward's lips twitched at the memory. "She said no life was certain and there was no happily ever after for her without me."

"Do you think anyone could love her as well as you?" Esme asked, stroking her son's cheek affectionately. "Doesn't she deserve that? My beautiful boy. You are not the reason the sun rises and sets. There are some things beyond your control. It was not your fault, and there are more important things to think isn't over, Edward. Let us do what we need to do. We'll find a way out of this. Together. Hopefully, no one will have to sacrifice themselves for anyone."

Edward opened his mouth to argue again, but then his shoulders slumped. He simply nodded. "When, then? When will you see him?"

The silence that followed was palpable. Edward lifted his head to look at his father out of habit. He could read the wariness in his Carlisle's eyes clearly even if he had not been able to hear his thoughts. "Tomorrow morning would be ideal," Carlisle said finally, and waited for his reaction.

He let out a hard, slow sigh. "If you go tomorrow you'll be well rested and well fed. Your mind will be sharp. It will be one less disadvantage," he said, his voice monotone and rhetorical. He heard the vaguely surprised thoughts in the minds around him. No one had expected him to calm himself down. He dug his fingers into his scalp, the slight pain easing the intense anxiety he felt by one minute iota. "I can't endanger her further by panicking," he told them and himself.

If they had been able to get to her when it was just James and Victoria, it would have been different. There would have been risks, of course, but he was capable of taking on two fighters of even their skill level. Now, though, Edward could see they would need all of their wits about them. A group as small as they were could not hope to take on Aro's army.

Alice frowned, the visions in her head indistinct. "I can't see what he'll do," she admitted, frustrated. She had been trying to see what Aro's reaction to their parents would be but the visions would not solidify. It wasn't a surprise though. Aro was far from predictable.

Carlisle sighed. "We'll be fine," he said to both of his children. He looked around the clearing they were in. "I think it would be best if we camped here. We are perhaps a mile or so from the city now. It's easy enough to get there and back."

They all pitched in then, busying themselves with setting up a makeshift camp. The sun set and a fire was lit. When there was nothing else to do with his hands Edward sank back against the tree he had leaned against earlier. He put his head in his hands and tried to breathe through the weight on his chest that threatened to suffocate him. "Alice," he said, not looking up. He heard his sister's questioning thoughts. "Please..will you look for Bella's future?"

Alice hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea," she hedged.

"You're probably right," he admitted. He rubbed his head, willing the terrible frustration to ease.

_Don't give up hope. _He wasn't even sure whose mental voice said it. They were all thinking some variation of it.

"Until her heart stops beating, I don't have a choice. She is my life."

The last of Rosalie's potions was the only thing that let Edward find any peace that night.

***

Very early the next morning, Carlisle and Esme were not at all surprised to find that their names granted them immediate entrance into the gates of the palace. They were greeted at the doors by Chelsea and her husband Afton. Chelsea was all smiles, kissing Esme and Carlisle's cheeks as she exclaimed how good it was to see them. For the sake of keeping things friendly, Carlisle and Esme plastered on smiles and pretended that everything was fine; as if this were no more than a social visit.

Of course, when they were ushered into the throne room, Aro looked only seconds away from bouncing in his seat with the excitement that sparked in his eyes. Esme recalled that, when she was a child, she used to be fascinated with her father's insatiable curiosity. When she was very young, he used to pull her onto his lap and talk to her about the people and cultures he was learning about. Now, that look had long been tainted with his plotting to further his kingdom and control as many people as possible.

In her excitement, Alice looked so much like her grandfather it made Esme's hear tache.

Esme pushed that thought away as her father was approaching, all smiles.

"Ah, my darling daughter," Aro cried, pleased. He put his arms around Esme, holding her close to him. She and Carlisle both noticed that his fingers were brushing her hand as he held her. He was reading her even then. "It is, as always, good to see you, though I lament that it had to be under regrettable circumstances once more."

"Regrettable?" Esme asked, stepping out of her father's embrace. "What makes this situation regrettable?"

Aro eyed her skeptically. "I apologize, my dear one. I had assumed you were here about Isabella Swan."

"Yes, of course Father, but there's no reason that has to end so regrettably." Esme smiled sweetly.

Still watching his daughter with a curious expression, Aro offered a hand to Carlisle who shook it warmly. Carlisle thought the best tactic would be to cut to the chase. "We are to understand that Isabella Swan committed a murder, is that correct?"

Aro glanced around the throne room at the random milling faces. "Come, let us talk in a more private location," he moved off to a door behind the throne room. Carlisle and Esme followed him obligingly. They were both somewhat surprised when the room behind the large hall was empty.

When they had settled around the table and after Aro had offered them wine to drink and fresh bread to eat, he started to speak. "You are here to contest that she killed that man?" Aro asked.

"My understanding of the events is that his death was an accident," Carlisle said smoothly. "Murder has some measure of predetermination to it. In this case, Bella was attempting to stave off her captor's attack."

"Your talented daughter - she saw these things?" Aro clarified.

Carlisle nodded, keeping his face clear of the anxiety he felt at bringing Alice into this conversation. He had known it had to happen.

Aro steepled his fingers, deep in thought. "I met the young man, you know," he said distractedly. "I am aware that he is not the most...civilized of men. However, I did not see him as a rapist." His look was steady as he turned back to Carlisle and Esme. "Alice knew, of course, that you would come to me with her visions. It would have been a simple to concoct a lie to save her friend - her sister.

"As it is - there is simply no proof. Her clothing was not torn. There was nothing in Victoria's thoughts that would support that theory either. The only marks on her body were from the rope that bound her." Aro looked rueful, but then allowed a spark of hope to enter his features. "If Alice holds the evidence that Bella did what she needed to protect herself from assault, well that is something I would have to consider. I would, of course, need to see the proof of that first hand. From Alice."

"Her visions are not full on memories," Carlisle hedged. "The most you would see would be a suggestive image. It was clear he was taunting and threatening her consistently out of Victoria's sight."

Aro's small frown seemed genuinely regretful. His tone, as he spoke, was ernest. "I'm afraid that taunts and threats are no excuse to take someone's life. Not here. So you see my predicament?" he asked, his hands open as if imploring them to understand.

"And if Alice could show you, without a doubt, what James' intentions were, what would Bella's fate be?" Esme asked. Her voice was hard enough that Aro arched one eyebrow at her.

Aro considered this. "I must admit that the girl has me curious. Doubtless you know that she has found away around Edward's gifts, not to mention my own."

"You make it sound as if she's doing it on purpose," Esme said.

"Do you know for certain that she is not?" Aro countered.

Carlisle and Esme both balked at him. "What are you insinuating?" Carlisle asked.

"You don't find it odd that there has never been another who so much as dimmed their thoughts for either of us - myself nor your son? Then, not only did she appear in your town, but endeared herself to all of you - arguably the most powerful family in the entire kingdom. Don't you find that strange? And you don't find it odd that she, a girl with only basic self defense training by her own admission, bested a seasoned fighter?" He tilted his head at them thoughtfully. "Have you considered that she is dangerous?"

Esme scoffed, incredulous. "She is a young girl. Before she came to Forkshire she lived on a farm. She is a baker by trade!"

Aro smiled patiently. "My dear, when you run a Kingdom as large as mine you learn to spot potential trouble in even the most innocent of packages."

Esme and Carlisle paused to consider this, both of their thoughts going to Jane's angelic face. "Not Bella," Esme said firmly.

"Again," Aro said, a wry smile on his face, "That is simply not something I can just take your word for. I know how you think of me," he said, gesturing vaguely at his head, "But, this kingdom puts its trust in me. Whether you feel that way or not, I have done my best to do right by them. Even if what you're saying is true, and Bella acted only because she felt threatened by James, they will not understand if I just let her go free. Hers is a volatile and violent mindset that they would not feel comfortable letting walk around freely."

"What are you saying?" Carlisle asked tightly.

Aro stood and went to pour himself more wine. "I'm saying," he began, back toward them, "Were you to prove to me that Bella's actions were not premeditated murder, I could not release her." He turned back, swirling the wine in his glass and staring into the deep crimson. He looked up with a smile. "There would be a certain period of rehabilitation, of course."

"Rehabilitation?" Esme's voice was slightly shrill.

Acting as if he hadn't heard the change in her tone, Aro continued. "I'm sure you remember the time I spent with Jane and Alec, dear. In the event that Isabella could be exonerated of murder, she would need to remain here until I could determine that she was back in control of her behavior. Killing should not be a reaction to any kind of provocation, after all."

Carlisle and Esme gaped at him, but before either speak he let the final shoe drop. "Of course, as I said before, I know how important she is to my grandson. In the event that you could show me the proof I need, he would, of course, be welcome to stay here." Aro's smile became wide. "Nothing would please me more, in fact."

***

"I don't like this," Jasper said, climbing to his feet and beginning to pace. Carlisle and Esme had made it back to their camp near sunset. They had spent the day indulging Aro's false pleasantries as they tried to find a way other than the route he'd given them. Now, the family had been over and over every word Aro said, and they could find no loopholes.

"You don't have to worry about Alice," Edward said numbly. He was sitting against a tree with his knees drawn up and his head in his hands. "Aro can see what he needs to from my memories as well as he could from Alice's. I'll go alone."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Alice cried. In her head she saw a vision of Edward kneeling at Aro's feet and she shook it away. "Let him manipulate you - and Bella? No. There has to be another way."

Edward looked up, his eyes hard. "What other way is there? We've been over and over this. If I go to him, at least she will live. How could I not?"

"Son," Carlisle said tiredly, "Please, calm down. Let's not rush into anything. We still have time. Give it a few more days at least before you go to him. Perhaps there is an avenue we haven't yet seen."

Surprisingly, Edward didn't argue, but he rocked back and forth slightly with restless energy. "I need to see her. I need to know she's alright," he whispered.

"Edward, you've seen-" Alice started.

"Your visions are glimpses," Edward snapped. "They're moments. Fragments of time. Yes, they show me that she is whole and physically unharmed, as far as we can tell. But it's not her body that Aro is interested in. You know him. Regardless of whether or not he actually believes that Bella isn't in control of her gift, he will want to know how it works, or at the very least what her limits are. You know he was the same with you," he said to his father.

Edward stood, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I just - Let me get inside the city. If I can hear their thoughts I can see behind any kind of treachery. Just let me within a mile of the castle and I can find Aro's mind, or Jane's...whatever works."

"Give us time, Edward," Esme pleaded. In her mind he could see, of course, what she was thinking. She knew, as everyone at this camp knew, that if he figured out that someone was hurting Bella, or even if he knew exactly where she was, it would be highly unlikely that he would be able to stop himself from going to her - no matter what stood in his way. "We'll ask Aro if we can see her. I don't see any reason why he wouldn't let us see her."

_Unless he _is_ hurting her. _Jasper's mental voice sent a chill and a rush of anger down Edward's spine.

Edward groaned, unable to help himself. There had to be something he could do. He was missing something. He could feel it in his bones. He ran over his grandfather's conversation with his parents. From the ridiculous insinuations that Bella was some sort of mole to-

Wait.

Edward went over the facts again in his head.

"Edward," Jasper's voice brought him out of his thoughts momentarily. "What are you thinking?" Jasper was studying his brother-in-law with interest.

"Laurent," Edward called, not acknowledging Jasper's question.

Irina and Laurent had been mostly quiet for days now, but, of course, Edward had heard their thoughts as clearly as they had been spoken. First and foremost in Laurent's mind had been a thought similar to Aro's. How had Bella bested James? Bella was trained in self defense and basic fighting tactics, but James had hunted people and creatures thousands of times more deadly than she had the capability of being. He knew how to counter self defense moves. More importantly, no bounty hunter who had lived as long as James had made the kind of mistake that had gotten him killed.

He had left his dagger, a weapon James, as a trained monk, did not typically have a use for in the first place, within reach of his captive.

Laurent stood from where he had been sitting around the fire. He ambled over to the Cullens uncertainly. "Yes?"

Edward took a steadying breath. "In your time with James, has ever forced himself on someone or threatened a woman's body before?"

Slowly, Laurent shook his head. "No, not ever. He demands submission, but never in a sexual manner." His eyes flicked nervously to Irina and back. "In our line of work, willing women are not difficult to come by. Of course, it was not something Victoria would have stood for either. She is very possessive."

"What's going on, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," Edward admitted. "What if..." he trailed off, trying to put his thoughts together coherently. "What if we are concentrating too much on Aro? James' death is the reason he has any hold on Bella at all. What if that...wasn't an accident?"

Everyone stared at Edward with wide eyes. "That sounds a lot like wishful thinking, Edward," Alice said cautiously.

"No, Alice think about it," Edward said, beginning to pace as he tied together pieces of the puzzle. "When you had your vision - when you saw James dead, you didn't see just one image. You saw four separate flashes all with slightly different circumstances, but all with the same outcome."

Alice froze, thinking back to her visions. "That's right. I didn't really think about that."

"Alice's visions are based on choice," Jasper processed out loud. "Either Bella was knowingly _trying _to kill him-"

"Or James was what - trying to be killed?" Irina said, a little disbelieving.

"I didn't say it necessarily made sense, but it certainly doesn't make sense that Bella got the better of him - nor that he was acting so uncharacteristic with her - nor that he was so careless. You must admit, Irina, leaving your weapon where a prisoner, an _unbound _prisoner, could get to it is a mistake none of us would make," Edward pointed out.

Carlisle ran a hand over his chin thoughtfully. "You think it was planned then? That idea...is not actually out of the realm of possibility. Now that I think about it, Jane's original reasoning behind asking James to er, retrieve, Bella is quite flimsy. If this was her plan all along-"

"You're still depending on the fact that James would willingly sacrifice himself. As little as I know of him, that is unlikely," Irina interrupted.

"Unless he isn't dead," Jasper said slowly.

"Come on," Irina said, looking at them like they were all crazy.

"No," Laurent told her. "It makes a certain amount of sense. James doesn't make these kinds of mistakes...and it would explain the other girl."

"Angela?" Edward asked.

Laurent nodded. "I thought it was unusual. James wasn't the type to leave loose ends. However, he also hated for any of his exploits to go unnoticed. I can imagine not being able to tell anyone something of this magnitude would irk him."

"You think he's taunting us by leaving Angela alive," Carlisle said.

"You know, monks have the ability to feign death. If their skills fail them, they are taught how to slow down their hearts and make their bodies limp, as in death." Laurent quirked an eyebrow at Alice. "If he were alive…couldn't you see it?

Alice grimaced, rubbing her head. "It doesn't work that way. When I know a person – when I can picture them perfectly, I can usually see bits and pieces of their future." Her voice was frustrated. She had been desperately searching for James' future as the conversation had unfolded but had had no luck. "I've only seen glimpses of James, and then only when he was directly affecting Bella's future."

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way," Edward said. "We have to find him."

"No, _you _can't leave this camp," Jasper said firmly. He cut Edward off before he could argue. "No, Edward, we've been over and over this. Yes, your gift would be an asset but it's not a necessity. Laurent," he said, turning toward the other man. "If he were alive, can you guess where he would go?"

Laurent rubbed a hand over his chin. "James has a fair share of connections. I know where to start looking."

"Then it's settled. Irina, you and Laurent will try to find James in Volterra...or where he might have gone. In any event, find out what happened to him, or his body as the case may be, after Bella was taken," Carlisle said with an air of finality.

He turned to Edward. "Edward, you and Alice will be together. Alice will likely see if Laurent starts down a path that will lead him to James. If he is alive."

Edward chuffed, not trusting himself to speak in his frustration. He nodded curtly.

"Edward, Alice," Carlisle said softly. He waited until Edward's head rose and Alice looked up before he continued. "If you see that James is alive…go and get him."

The next morning every member of the camp was awake as dawn rose. Edward had slept fitfully, and only because Jasper had lulled him to sleep.

Esme clucked over him as she put a warm roll in his hands. "You should go back to sleep, Edward," she murmured, smoothing his hair.

He scoffed. "No, thank you. The nightmares are worse than all of this idleness." He paused. "Even when I dream of her, when it's a good dream, it hurts too much to wake up without her in my arms."

Esme sighed. "Then we'll hope for the best. If James is alive…if Laurent and Irina are able to find him, this might all be over before nightfall."

Edward didn't speak at that though his heart lightened just slightly with hope.

Less than an hour passed before everyone was ready. Carlisle and Esme were going to see Aro again and ask to see Bella. Irina and Laurent were going to set out to find James – dead or otherwise.

Jasper, Edward and Alice were going to spend another day practicing sitting and waiting. Edward and Alice were less than pleased with this, but both had accepted that it was the best choice.

Hours later Carlisle found himself following Felix through the city to where Bella was being held. Aro had agreed to let him see her, given that Esme agreed to stay behind. Aro claimed that it was because he had so much lost time to make up for with his daughter, but Carlisle saw it more as insurance. Aro knew that Carlisle wouldn't try anything drastic as long as Esme was in castle.

As they descended down the stairs into a dank dungeon, Carlisle tried his hardest not to think about the stench and the darkness that permeated the claustrophobic space. Edward, he knew, would read it in his thoughts, and it would only serve to make him more agitated than he already was.

As they stepped into the room at the bottom of the steps, Carlisle saw Bella immediately. She was standing against the furthest wall of the tiny cell she occupied. Her head was up, her arms wrapped around her, and she was watching them warily. She looked haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and a gaunt, almost sickly pallor to her face.

But when she registered that it was Carlisle with Felix her eyes sparked, a brightness coming into them that had been missing. As quickly as he saw it, Carlisle noticed that she reined in her reaction and her eyes went as dead as they had been a moment before. He was concerned at first before he saw her bite her lip – a tell of hers when she was particularly nervous or excited. She was smart, he realized. She was masking her true feelings to keep Felix from noticing how much Carlisle's presence was affecting her.

Not for the first time, Carlisle was struck by how strong she was.

"You have ten minutes," Felix said to Carlisle before he unlocked the cell.

Carlisle nodded his understanding, not taking his eyes off Bella. As soon as the door was open he stepped inside, hardly noticing when Felix closed and locked the door behind him. He pulled Bella gently into his arms, the weight that had settled around his heart lightening just slightly now that he could see and feel for himself that she was alive. Her arms went around his waist and he could feel her tremble, but she didn't speak right away.

Mindful that Felix was still watching them, Carlisle released her quickly. He turned to level a glare at the younger man. "We're safely locked in here. I would appreciate a little privacy."

Felix sneered but he stepped backward. "Ten minutes," he reminded, and then ascended the stairs without another word.

Putting an arm back around Bella, Carlisle slid down against the wall with her so they were seated side by side. He swept her hair back out of her face, searching her for any signs of abuse.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice small and raw. "They haven't hurt me. You have to tell me. Carlise…the battle."

"Edward is alive. He, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie made it out of the battle unscathed." He hesitated but then decided honesty was the best policy. "Emmett was severely injured, but he survived," he said tightly.

"Emmett," Bella whispered, her hand going up to her mouth.

"He's going to be fine, Bella. He was recovering well even as we left Forkshire," Carlisle soothed.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Bella asked after a moment.

Carlisle sighed. "We lost five total. Two Knights, Sir Tyler and Sir Conner, and three of ours – Amun, Tia and Randall."

Bella's eyes closed. "They died because of me," she whispered.

"No," Carlisle shook his head and pulled her tighter against him. "This is not your fault, Bella. Not even remotely." He sighed again because he knew that she was just as stubborn as his son and she would never believe she wasn't responsible for those deaths.

Instead of arguing, Carlisle told Bella the shortened version of everything that had led them here. He left out the part about James perhaps being alive, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"Bella," he said, looking down at her. She seemed too calm for the situation she was in. "Really…are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She was looking down when she said it. Carlisle cupped her cheek, gently tilting her face up so he could look her in the eye. Her eyes remained downcast at first, but finally fluttered up to look at him. She tried to maintain her strong front but meeting his loving, worried eyes her face crumpled. Without another word Carlisle gathered her in his arms and Bella clung to him like a small child, burying her face in his neck. Her body absolutely quaked with the strength of sobs that ripped through her then.

There was nothing Carlisle could say, so he just held her and rocked her, rubbing her back lightly as she sobbed out her terror. Again, as he had when Edward had broken down several nights previous, his own heart broke under the weight of their anguish. There was not a lot he would have done to take this pain away from his children; to make them as happy as they had been just a few scant weeks ago.

"I'm so scared, Carlisle," Bella whispered into his chest. Her voice was strained and cracked as she spoke. "I just don't understand how this happened. I don't understand why James brought me here – and then everything happened so fast, and he was dead."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her tears. "I think Aro is only keeping me alive to get to Edward," she said, and looked up at him then. Her eyes were horror struck and fierce. "You have to keep him away, Carlisle."

"You know I'm trying, Bella," Carlisle assured her. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes Bella looked back down at her hands, slightly soothed.

When she spoke again her voice was so soft he almost didn't hear her. "Tell him, please. Tell him how much I love him. That he has been the best part of my life. I wouldn't change anything. Not a single day, and I will never, ever regret it."

"Bella…," Carlisle began, but he wasn't sure what to tell her. He had yet to figure a way out of this for her. As she looked up, her gaze watery, he could see that she knew it. As far as she knew, by all accounts she would die here.

"Please," she begged him. "Please just promise you'll tell him. I love him more than my own life. Don't let him blame himself for this. It's not his fault."

Carlisle could only nod. He wanted to tell her it would be alright, and that she could tell Edward how much she loved him every day for the rest of their lives, but he knew he could make no promises. Bella was smart enough to know how out of his control this situation was.

Bella sagged a little, as if this was a small weight off her shoulders. "Tell my father please, that I'm glad I got the time I did with him. And," she stopped, taking a deep breath. "Please, tell everyone. I love you all so much. More than you will ever know. Thank you for making me a part of your family."

Carlisle was about to answer but a cruel chuckle interrupted them. Both Bella and Carlisle's heads snapped up to see Felix had come back. He was leaning on the cell door with his arms folded across his chest, a smug sneer on his face. "Well, isn't this a tender moment."

Carlisle felt Bella tremble against him, pulling herself closer to him. Whether it was in fear or in anger he didn't know because he did not take his eyes off of Felix. He glared at the younger man's rudeness.

Felix only laughed again. He reached out, suddenly grabbing Bella by the arm, yanking her to her feet, out of Carlisle's embrace. Bella gasped as he pushed her roughly; face first, against the wall. He took one of her hands in each of his, placing them spread wide above her head, and began patting her down, starting at her long sleeves.

"What are you doing?" Carlisle protested, on his feet again. He sounded horrified and more than a little angry.

"Aro would be most displeased if I didn't make sure you haven't slipped her anything," Felix said with mock politeness. He used his knee to force Bella's legs further apart. He bent, running his hands up first one leg, then the other. Bella shuddered, squeezing her eyes closed tightly.

"Take your hands off her," Carlisle commanded. His voice was seething now and he took a step forward.

Felix turned around to face him, keeping one hand in the center of Bella's back. "Are we going to have a problem?"

"Carlisle," Bella called shakily. "It's fine. Please, go back to Esme." She was trying to come off as calm but Carlisle could see her hands were balled into tight fights against the cold, stone wall.

"What's a matter Carlisle? Why would you be so upset if you weren't hiding anything?" As he spoke he moved his hands up Bella's torso, squeezing as he went. "Perhaps I should do a strip search to be thorough, hmm?"

At that, Carlisle yanked him backward, away from Bella. "That's enough. You know as well as I do that if I slipped her anything, Aro would see it in my thoughts before she could even dream of escaping.

Sneering, Felix yanked his arm back from Carlisle. "You'd do well to keep your hands off me, old man."

Over Felix's massive shoulder Carlisle could see Bella standing with her back against the wall. Her eyes were cold and impassive again, and her arms were wrapped around her middle.

"Your time is up," Felix said coldly, forcing Carlisle to back out of the cell as he strode forward. The cell door slammed shut with a terrible sense of finality as Felix turned back to Bella. "I'll be back for you," he sneered.

Turning back to Carlisle, Felix gestured toward the stairs, indicating that the older man should go first. Carlisle remained still until Bella, who had not moved from the wall that Felix had pinned her against, looked up and met his eyes. He held her gaze for a few long moments, trying to will her the strength she needed, before reluctantly turning away from her and heading up the stairs.

**A/N: I am trying to finish this for you. I promise I will not abandon it. Thanks, if you're still with me. **


	13. Too Late

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Edward only waited until his parents were out of sight before he walked over to where his sister and her husband stood.

"I know there's no use in keeping this from you or I would," he murmured quickly, urgently. "I'm going into the city today."

As he expected, his sister didn't look surprised. Instead, Alice leapt up. "Good. I don't think I could take another day of waiting around." She studied him closely. "Are you going to be alright, Edward? Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Of course not," Edward said dryly. "But I'll go less insane if we can do something. Anything. It just doesn't make sense for us not to be there. If you see Laurent go down a path that will lead us to James, we need to be close – not outside the city."

Jasper sighed, looking between his wife and his brother-in-law. "There's absolutely no way I can convince you two not to do this, right?"

They both just turned to look at him, Alice raising one eyebrow. Jasper grimaced. "Fine. But you have to promise me one thing. I know you two exist in your own little world sometimes, but if something goes down you need to tell me. No silent conversations."

Edward hesitated, but Alice was quick to step up to Jasper, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up to kiss his cheek. "I promise, even if he doesn't."

Satisfied at that, the three set off for Volterra. Edward and Jasper had to look out for Alice as she was constantly scanning the future. "No luck so far," she said for her husband's benefit as they neared the town's gates. She needn't have bothered. The frustrated look on both her and Edward's face had told Jasper as much.

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked.

"Would it be stereotypical of me to say that we need to find the seediest part of the city?" Edward muttered back.

"That's the only thing that makes sense, honestly. James' murder is the talk of the city. It's not likely, if he's hiding out, that he'd be hiding out in the more reputable areas," Jasper reasoned.

Edward frowned. "Then again, the criminal element here is scared stiff. I wonder if they would harbor James after a crime such as this," he chuffed lightly. "Criminals, especially here, aren't precisely known for their loyalty."

Jasper considered this. "Why don't we start at the inn that the… altercation took place," he suggested.

"Alice?" Edward asked.

"Laurent and Irina aren't having any luck. It's as good a place to start as any," she said, rubbing her temples.

The trio set off. They were, perhaps, about halfway across the city when Edward sat bolt upright on his horse. He looked around, trying to find the source of whatever voice he was hearing in his head. "A woman," muttered quickly. "She's thinking about James in a bed with bandages wrapped around his chest."

"Victoria," Alice breathed. Now that Edward had decided to find her, she could see the confrontation. "Edward, you can't approach her. She'll just be trouble."

He growled but nodded his agreement. "We'll find her and then follow her," he agreed.

They started to look around, Jasper grumbling about not having any special abilities that let him know what she looked like, when a commotion a ways down the street caught their attention.

"Damn," Edward cursed. "I forgot about her gift."

"Well," Alice said, "She forgot about ours!" With a cry she urged her horse into a run through the streets, expertly weaving around the people on the streets. Edward could see in her thoughts that for every move Victoria made, Alice would be there a second before, heading her off. At first, Edward was frustrated because Victoria's gift worked without conscious thought and so he could not follow her. He found, however, that he could follow Alice.

Finally they had corralled her. Alice rode to one end of a long alleyway while Edward and Jasper rode to the other. Victoria was stuck between them so even if she doubled back she would be faced with them.

Edward dismounted quickly, drawing his sword as he moved to confront her. The redhead was crouched, looking ready to spring, with a wicked looking dagger in her hand. "Don't be a fool," he said, struggling to contain his anger. "There are three of us, and you're trapped."

"You wouldn't dare kill me in the city," Victoria sneered.

"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" Edward countered, pointing his sword at her neck. "Mark my words well. I will not hesitate to kill you if you give us trouble here."

She must have read in his eyes that he was deadly serious. "What do you want from me?" she asked, her eyes looking behind her at Alice, then darting to Jasper and Edward in front of her.

"Take me to James," Edward demanded.

"James is dead," she spat.

"You cannot lie to me. I see him in your mind. I know he's wounded, but far from death's door. If you do not take me to him, I can promise you this – he will be dead. I have no fear of my grandfather," he made sure to pause to be sure Victoria realized his association to Aro, "and his laws. "Don't test my patience, Victoria. I want nothing more than to see James dead for what he put Bella through. If you take me to him, I will spare his life."

Victoria said nothing, looking torn. In her mind she was trying to find a better solution.

"It's the best deal you can hope to get," Alice said from behind her.

For a moment, it appeared as if Victoria would cooperate. She straightened out, her body losing the rigidity, and Edward made the mistake of lowering his sword as he stepped toward her. Then, Edward saw her plan just as she began to carry it out. "Alice!" he yelled in warning as he dove for Victoria.

The redhead had pivoted, tossing the dagger at Alice with a lightning quick snap of her wrist. She had another dagger in her hand when Edward barreled into her. Edward's warning and her own lightning quick vision had given Alice just enough time to turn her body so that the dagger caught her in the shoulder instead of the chest. She cried out with the pain of it.

Edward and Victoria wrestled furiously, Edward raising his sword just in time to fend off her dagger. Then she was suddenly lifted backward and thrown against the wall of the ally. Edward looked up to see an absolutely livid Jasper pinning her against the wall – his right hand holding her wrist, shaking the dagger out of her hand, as his left pressed down on her throat.

Victoria kicked at Jasper and he let her go, tossing her to the side and to the ground. She coughed, scrambling to her knees and searching for her weapon. Jasper raised his sword to strike the final blow.

"Jasper!" Alice cried out. She was leaning against the opposite wall, holding her hand over the wound in her arm. "You can't kill her."

In that instant, Jasper switched his grip on the sword, bringing the hilt of it down at Victoria's head instead. The redhead slumped to the ground, unconscious.

By then, Edward had gotten to his sister. "The wound isn't bad," he said, quickly rummaging in his pack for a strip of cloth to stave off the bleeding.

"I know that," Alice said, her teeth gritted. "It's fine, Edward. Just leave it."

Jasper put an arm around her waist, helping her up. Alice turned to him, as Edward processed the vision she was thinking about – something she'd seen in the few seconds that they'd scuffled with Victoria. "You need to get to Fa," she told her husband.

"I thought you said the wound wasn't that bad," Jasper protested, his eyes going to her bloodied hand over her arm.

"It isn't," Alice said hurriedly. "Irina and Laurent have a lead on James. We need Fa to get him healthy enough to get him to the castle. I cannot see exactly where we will be, but it will be somewhere on the west side of town. I'll find you, but you need to get Fa now."

Jasper studied his wife for a moment, not wanting to be separated from her, but then he nodded.

Already, Edward had bound Victoria's hands and feet. "We have no time," Alice said urgently. "Just leave her here. If she becomes a problem, we'll have to deal with it then."

Edward nodded, more than eager to be away from here and closer to Bella. He quickly helped Alice back on her horse before mounting his. With her visions, it wouldn't be that difficult to track James down, especially when they were reunited with Laurent and Irina.

But something else was bothering Alice. "Something's wrong," she mumbled under her breath. "The vision isn't changing." It said a lot about her level of distraction that she spoke those words out loud. Voicing Edward's fear was not a good way to keep him calm.

All hope of keeping his panic at bay was lost in the next second as a horrifying vision came over Alice.

Their time had been cut short. As Edward kicked his horse to go even faster toward where Alice had last seen Laurent and Irina, he could only hope that he had just enough time.

~0~

As Carlisle and Felix made their way back to the castle, it was almost midday. They had no sooner stepped inside the castle than Carlisle could hear Esme's raised voice. He broke into a brisk walk until he found Esme with her father in the front room.

"Father, please," she was pleading, looking entirely aghast. "You scheduled her execution in two weeks."

"I did so to have time to wheedle out any conspirators or plots against you and your family, my dear," Aro said calmly. "You have repeatedly assured me that she would not plot against you. If that is the case then there is no reason to stall. These are the rules of the city – as they have been since you were a small child."

He turned then, hearing Felix and Carlisle approach. "Felix," he said, "Please retrieve Isabella and bring her here." His eyes landed briefly on Carlisle, "I've moved up her execution to today."

Carlisle's hands fisted at his side and he acted quickly, grabbing his wife's arm before she could protest. "Come, Esme," he said urgently. Her eyes went wide but she obeyed, falling into quick step beside him. He leaned down as they walked, speaking quickly. "We have to get to Edward and Alice, now."

He knew they would have seen this.

~0~

The next half hour seemed to fly and crawl for all involved.

Jasper found Carlisle and Esme just as they exited the castle. As Alice had directed, they set out to the west of the city. By then, Alice and Edward had found Laurent and Irina. Irina had been sent to meet up with Carlisle, Esme and Jasper. She led them to a tiny shack on the outskirts of town where James lay.

He was not fatally injured. Edward had read from his thoughts that the wounds Bella had inflicted during their tussle were more than he thought the unskilled baker girl capable of. He was weak, but not dying. He was well enough to curse them all in every language he knew, but far too outnumbered to do anything about it.

Carlisle took care of his daughter's wound first, then saw to it that James was well enough ride with them. That done, they all took off toward the castle at top speed.

It would be close – Alice and Edward could see that. The image of Bella's still, drained body still plagued Alice.

Edward could hardly think more than her name. It sounded in him with every beat of his heart – every fraction of a second that he was away from her. He was desperately afraid they'd be too late. It seemed like days before they were finally in sight of the courtyard, and there he could see Bella, her hands shackled behind her, being led into the castle gates by Felix. Her head was held high and she was looking around, as if trying to formulate some plan even then.

Edward's cry of "Bella!" had both her and Felix twisting around. Then she was struggling in earnest, calling Edward's name

Edward's horse was the fastest but Felix could see behind him rode Carlisle, Esme, a few unfamiliar figures…and a scowling, blond haired man that he did recognize. Suddenly, it was Felix who was scowling. They would find a way, he realized, to let the girl go free. Felix remembered his vow that he would fulfill his mother's wishes. His mother wanted this girl dead.

It happened too quickly for most anyone watching to process.

Edward saw his thoughts a split second before Felix acted and he screamed, "No!" as Felix drew a slim dagger from his side and dragged it quickly across Bella's neck.

In the next second he'd let her go, just as Edward dismounted and rushed forward. In shock and gagging, Bella stumbled forward, falling into Edward's arms. As they both sunk to the ground, he turned her slightly so Bella's back was against his chest and his hand clamped down hard on the wound at her throat.

Bella was actually dying three different ways. First, there was the blood. Severing a main artery, she was bleeding to death quickly, her life slipping through Edward's fingers at an alarming rate. Second, she was asphyxiating. With her airway cut, oxygen could not make it to her lungs. Even if it could, there was the third problem. Bella was drowning. Her lungs were filling rapidly with the blood that did not spill down her skin.

She had minutes. If that.

Almost immediately, Carlisle had caught up with Edward and had dismounted his own horse. He dropped to his knees beside Edward and Bella, already murmuring incantations under his breath.

"Bella," Edward whispered frantically against her hair, "Please hang on. Please. You're going to be fine, love. Just hang on."

Her head tilted back slightly so that he could see her eyes. They were so glassy. He could see the light fading. He could see her terror and he could see her sorrow and her love. Her hands gripped the front of his tunic trying to communicate something besides the horrible, wet gagging noises.

Edward was terrified that she was trying to say goodbye.

Under his fingers, he could feel the wound at her neck closing at a snail's pace. Her warm blood still flowed too quickly over his hands, down her neck. The wound was closing too slowly.

Bella's eyelids started to droop.

"Look at me," Edward implored. "Stay with me. Just a little longer and it will be okay.

"Get her flat," Carlisle commanded. "As soon as the wound closes all the way, we need to get the blood out of her lungs."

Edward hurried to comply with his father's orders, keeping one hand at her neck and the other at the back of her head as he settled her down on her back. _She looks like death, _he thought dismally, noting the utterly drained pallor of her complexion. Already her eyes were unfocused.

The gagging sounds stopped, becoming a gurgle and her lips moved slowly without sound, but Edward heard it anyway.

She was saying, _I love you_.

"Please don't give up," he begged.

But she had been without air for too long and there was too little blood in her body. Just as the wound on her neck sealed shut completely, Bella's eyes closed and her trembling body stilled.

"Compressions!" Carlisle ordered before Edward could panic. "Pump hard, Edward. A broken rib can be fixed but we need to get the blood out of her lungs and her heart beating again."

For the moment, Edward was able to push aside everything else and focus on his task. He could still feel her. Even though her body was cooling he could feel her presence like a warmth wrapped around him. As long as she was still there in some way, he wasn't going to stop fighting. He couldn't.

Despite the fact that the thought of hurting her was abhorrent to him, Edward thumped down hard on her chest, trying to get her heart and lungs to react again. As he did this, Carlisle continued to murmur incantations encouraging her blood to replenish and her heart to beat. Then he would blow air into her mouth, coming away with his lips bloodied.

A full minute went by. Then two. It wasn't working. Bella's body was not responding.

When the spark and fire separated itself from Bella's body, Edward felt it. "No!" he screamed, realizing instinctively that no amount of mechanical pumping could bring her body back if her essence was gone, Edward gathered her limp form in his arms, pushing his father away. "No, no. Bella, please."

He held this physical representation of her because it was all he had; it was all he could reach. He could feel that magnetism, the pull he always felt for her, concentrating somewhere above him. It was present, but fading. He was helpless to stop it.

He pulled her body close, folding in on himself around her. His eyes were closed. With every feeling inside of him he reached out, trying to project himself away from his body, to call her back, or to join her, he really didn't know which. But he remained, his own body wracked with a pain so physically powerful that he shook with it. The desperation and the despair were overwhelming, each of them pummeling his heart and his chest in a constant barrage even as his mind fought for her. He knew nothing else, could feel nothing else. "Oh, please. Bella," he begged, his voice a strangled whisper.

Edward was entirely oblivious to everything around him. He didn't even see the crowd that gathered around them. From the streets, people were peering through the gates with pensive curiosity. Irina, Laurent and James stood off to the side, James with a satisfied smirk on his face even as he sagged against Laurent. Alice and Jasper, Felix restrained between them, looked on in complete horror. Esme was sobbing into her hands, wanting to go to her son but utterly frozen. Carlisle was sitting back a small distance from Edward and Bella, his hand over his mouth, reeling at the idea he'd been unable to save the girl that had become a dear daughter to him. By that time, the commotion had even drawn Aro and Jane from the depths of the palace, and they were looking out over the scene with confusion – or, in Jane's case, smug satisfaction.

But despite the fact all their mental voices clamored in his head, Edward heard none of them. It was all just a dull roar far, far in the distance. There was nothing, in that endless moment, besides the agony of losing her. There was no thought in his head except that he wanted to follow her.

~0~

At first, there was the sensation of nothingness.

Gradually, Bella became aware of her own existence. You couldn't know what it was like to have a truly blank mind – truly free of any emotion, feeling or thought, until the moment when your soul separates from your body.

Then, things came back in increments. It was like being born again, except into a wholly different type of living.

For one moment there was only the feeling of weightlessness. She had, to the best of her memory, never been without a body and in that moment she could only concentrate on the eerie feeling of floating.

But then a cry permeated her consciousness. A long, keening sound almost inhuman in its anguish. _Edward_. Every part of her being was filled with his pained weeping. Since she no longer had a body to contain it, his anguish became all she knew.

Suddenly, she could see again. She was somewhere close above the gathered people. She knew the others were there, but it was only Edward she could see.

He was sitting on the ground, her lifeless, bloodied body cradled against him. His face was pressed against hers, forehead to forehead, nose to nose. His hair was falling across both their faces, curtaining the expression he wore. She didn't need to see it. Though he was whispering, she could hear him as clearly as if she were still in her body. It was the same two words running together over and over again. "Bella, please, please." His shoulders quaked under the strength of his tears.

Then she understood. She was drifting away. She could feel the pull upward, the warmth and comfort from this impossible pain that it offered, and she was frantic. She tried to struggle, but she had no body. She fought to answer Edward's broken mumbling, but she had no voice. She tried to reach for him but she had no arms.

She did the only thing she could do. She wrapped every part of her consciousness around him. His name. His essence, his bright presence. She strained toward it, blocking out the existence of anything but him until she could no longer feel the pull drawing her toward the light; but neither could she rejoin her body.

Being there and unable to hold him, to talk to him, was hellfire and damnation. But the alternative - the thought of drifting away from him altogether - was unfathomable. Caught between two different hells, Bella fought to remain.

~0~

Shortly before he had fled Volterra with Esme, Carlisle had been called to Aro's personal chambers.

Quite some time before, Aro and Carlisle had come across ancient texts that suggested that Carlisle's gift could be used to resurrect the dead. The thought was terribly exciting to Aro. The Volterran leader could see that his army would truly be unstoppable if his warriors could not be permanently felled in battle.

The price, though, was that life had to be given for life. The spell took the lifeforce of the caster to give it to the dead.

Aro said he knew the way around that. He knew the secret of Jane and Alec's everlasting youth. He could make Carlisle immortal and his lifeforce would be infinite.

Of course, Carlisle had never been comfortable with the way Aro used his people's gifts. It didn't seem right that a mortal should have the power of a God. It didn't seem right to use their gifts to accumulate power, rather than help those in need of helping.

Since then, Carlisle had scarcely thought about that particular facet of his gift. In fact, he'd only thought about it twice. Once when Edward was seventeen, and an illness very nearly claimed his life, and again two weeks ago when Emmett nearly died underneath his hands.

This time though, there would be no waiting. He'd waited by Edward's bedside, watching his son's chest rise and fall with shallow breaths until his breathing got steady and his eyelids fluttered open. He'd watched over Emmett as his heartbeat got stronger even though his body was still weak.

Bella's heartbeat was gone.

There really wasn't a choice, as far as Carlisle was concerned.

He turned his head to find Esme where she stood, one hand reaching toward Edward but not yet touching him. For a moment, his resolve faltered. Oh, Gods. His wife. His Esme. He knew this would hurt her so badly. How many long days and nights had he left her alone, not knowing if he would come back from battle? He knew she wanted him by her side to watch their children continue to grow and their grandchildren to come into the world. But she was a mother first, always. If it was her choice to make, she would not hesitate. As long as their children were there, she would never be completely alone. _I love you, so much. I'm sorry._

His eyes flitted to where his daughter was and he drank her in for a moment. There was so much strength in Alice's tiny frame. It could not be easy to carry the future in your mind, and he was glad that she was so distracted that she would not see what he was about to do_. I love you, _he thought.

Carlisle thought of Emmett, hoping that his recovery was going well. His firstborn child - the strong, kind, rambunctious boy he'd watched grow into a man. As a father, he could not be prouder of his children. He hoped Emmett would understand how much he was loved and would not regret that he hadn't been here to help.

He thought of Rosalie and Jasper - as dear to him as if they were his own blood. They were such strong, good people. Living as they'd been forced to for years in the wilderness could have stripped them of their humanity. It spoke to their will that it hadn't. Instead they had translated the thick exterior and ferocity they'd learned into a protective nature of their adopted family. Carlisle could not have asked for two better spouses for his children. He loved them both well.

Then Carlisle looked toward Edward, cradling Bella's lifeless body to him as if he could coax her back to life with sheer willpower. His youngest son - always so withdrawn from everyone else, different somehow. Though Emmett was the oldest, Edward unquestionably was the leader of the family, outside of Carlisle himself. It happened too often that the strongest was often the one with the least support. Bella was exactly what he'd needed, though no one could have known until she appeared. Losing them now would be a blow that his family could not withstand. _My life for yours, my children. _

Their lives for his. Two little-lived lives for his well-lived one.

It was not playing a God. It was his right. It was his divine sacrifice.

Unwilling to watch his son suffer for even another second, Carlisle spoke the incantation under his breath, hoping fervently that the texts were right and this would work.

The pain began right away.

It was excruciating pain that wracked his entire body. Carlisle barely caught it in time to keep from crying out. If he screamed, as he desperately wanted to, he would alert his gathered family to what was going on, and they would stop him.

Carlisle kept his focus on Edward's sobbing form.

He could remain quiet to save his son.

But Bella's body remained deathly still.

The pain in his own body increased exponentially and he could feel himself getting tired. It would be over soon. It had to work. He kept on murmuring the spell under his breath.

He kept his eyes on Edward, then on Alice and then on Esme.

Esme.

She was the last thing he saw as the final stab of pain hit him in the very center of his being, draining him as his back arched and he bit down on his lip to keep from making noise. His eyes closed against the agony.

Then, there was nothingness; his mind and his body went entirely blank.

**A/N: The bad news is…yeah, that was a kind of a cliffie wasn't it? The good news is… I don't think it will take me months to finish this story. I'd expect the next update in a couple of weeks. **

**Sigh. I so had hoped to have this done by the year mark on August 8****th****, but life got kinda crazy. **

**Thanks to josieswan for looking this over **

**If any of y'all are still out there, let me hear from you. I promise the next chapter will be up soon. Just one more chapter and an epilogue. **


	14. An End

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Not even five minutes had passed since Felix had drawn his blade across Bella's throat. No one had time to react before, suddenly, the dead girl's body bucked violently in Edward's arms.

"Bella?" he cried, unsure what was happening. Her eyes were still closed. He had seen bodies twitch after death, but this was something altogether different.

He settled her on her back again and almost instantly her body arched, almost bending straight in half with her middle pointed toward the heavens. Her eyes flew open and she rolled to her side, expelling the blood that was in her lungs with ugly, choking coughs. Her coughs subsided just in time for her to scream once, a horrible scream filled with unimaginable pain, before she slumped to the ground again, her eyes closed.

But her chest continued to rise and fall.

Unconscious, but very, very much alive.

Before anyone had time to process this miracle, another horrible scream filled the air. Not Bella – her eyelids remained closed. Edward could hardly stand to take his eyes off her, fearing that she would stop breathing again, but it was his mother who'd screamed.

"Carlisle?" she cried, on her knees beside her husband's too still body. Though she didn't let go of Felix's arm, Alice suddenly screamed wordlessly, her face pale as she searched for her father's future and found nothing.

Then, Edward understood what had happened.

Years before, when Edward had come of age and joined the guild in an official capacity, he'd had a choice to study magic or join as a fighter. His father had told him everything about his days with the Volturi, and all the ancient texts that were still being unearthed – the great powers that could be his to control. Edward had chosen not to wield those mystical powers, uncertain of whether he'd have his father's strength not to use some of them.

Among the spells that his father spoke of was a rite of sacrifice – giving your own fire of life to another. Once done, it could not be undone.

It had only been seconds before that he thought he would have traded anything so that Bella could live again. The price for his love, his life, to live was for his father's death.

Abruptly, the pure pain he'd felt only moments earlier was replaced by a near total anger. He hardly recognized the guttural cry that rang through the air as his own. He didn't even recognize that he was moving until he had flung himself at Felix, knocking the bigger man right out of Alice and Jasper's grasp.

"Murderer!" he yelled amidst a string of profanities. His fists flew, and though Felix was physically stronger than Edward, the younger man was running on adrenaline and pure hate. They were fairly evenly matched.

Both men ignored the cries around them, going at each other too quickly to be stopped by the hands that attempted to restrain them. Edward had just gotten Felix into a wicked headlock, when he suddenly sat bolt upright, releasing his uncle abruptly. His face twisted into a mask of pure pain, a single cry of anguish coming out of him as if pulled forcibly from the center of his being. His body twisted as he crumpled to the floor in agony.

Jane, her face furious, stood over him, repeatedly twisting a needle into a simple poppet. "You arrogant fool," she spat, looking down on him. "What made you think you could hurt my son?"

She didn't even see Esme rise from where she'd been holding Carlisle's still form, so Jane did not expect it when a well-placed fist collided with her face. The ageless woman fell to the ground, dropping her poppet as she put a shocked hand to her face. "What made you think you could hurt mine?" Esme challenged. Her fists were clenched at her sides and she looked as if she would easily kill anyone who dared to hurt her family again.

~0~

Bella regained consciousness in increments.

Hearing came back first, though that too was slow. At first the voices and sounds around her were like buzzing. She began to differentiate between the sharp, angry noises and the gentle, warm tones. There was one in particular – a familiar, loving voice with an almost musical cadence.

She struggled, trying to concentrate and make the buzzing become real words, but she was too tired and the blackness took her again.

Feeling came next, and that was not as welcome. On the one hand she could feel a warm bed with soft, silken sheets. She could feel a larger hand holding hers, though she couldn't squeeze it as she wanted to. On the other hand – she also felt the twinges of pain. Her chest ached, sometimes with sharp twinges. Her throat felt worse than it had after James had choked her.

Darkness took her again.

When consciousness returned, the pain doubled, but Bella took that as a good sign. It meant she was closer to being able to open her eyes. She focused on her hand - just a little squeeze.

"Bella?"

His voice eased some of the anxiety she felt at being so trapped in her own body. He sounded relieved, hopeful. She tried to speak but couldn't find her lips, so she squeezed again. He sighed a shuddering sigh, and she felt her hand lift. There was a the slightly wet feel of his lips against her skin, his warm breath on her hand. "Open your eyes," he murmured near her ear.

Bella tried hard to comply, desperate to see him. Flashes of memories were coming back to her. The long weeks apart from him. James's sneering face and bloody body. The feel of Felix's knife across her throat. Being unable to breathe.

What had happened?

She felt so weak and lethargic. Still, she was determined to open her eyes this time. She needed to see him.

It took several minutes and a lot of coaxing from Edward, but finally her eyelids fluttered. Her vision was hazy at first but then she was able to see him clearly.

Gods, he looked like hell. There were deep circles under his eyes - so dark that it seemed like he'd smudged them with coal. His face was bruised, a small gash from someone's heavy ring on his right cheek. Those wounds looked recent.

But he was smiling, and he was so angelically beautiful that if Bella hadn't known better, she might have thought she was heaven bound after all. He cupped her cheek tenderly with the hand that wasn't holding hers, stroking with his thumb as he gazed down on her. "How I've missed you, Bella," he whispered. "You can't even begin to fathom."

She opened her mouth to argue but no sound came out. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Shhh, don't try to talk," Edward soothed her. "Your vocal chords won't work yet."

Her eyes flew to his, anxious. "It's not permanent," he assured. He smiled softly. "A few days, perhaps, and then you can get back to arguing with me."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief - or tried to, anyway. Then she winced at the sharp pain in her chest. "I'm so sorry, love," Edward said, looking so guilty. "It seems I broke a couple of your ribs while I was trying to restart your heart."

She squeezed his hand tightly. Of all the things to apologize for...

Then Bella's eyebrows furrowed again. Carlisle could easily mend a simple broken rib or three. If he had not...

Her eyes went wide and pleaded with him. Dread built up in her when he dropped her gaze, a mournful expression coming over his features. "You should go back to sleep," he said quickly, not wanting to give her all the details.

Stubborn as ever, she shook her head vehemently. Edward sighed, raising her hand to his lips again as he summoned the words. "We couldn't save you. You..." he cut off abruptly, closing his eyes against the memory. "You died in my arms. I felt your presence leave your body," he whispered.

"Then, out of nowhere you were breathing again," he said, omitting the fountain of blood, the tremors that had rocked her body and the blood curdling scream that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. "My father... Bella, he had made his decision before anyone realized what had happened." He took a deep breath, looking up and watching her eyes fill with tears. "It was a spell - the one Aro always knew he could master. His life for yours."

Bella's eyes closed, a despair coming over her that was so thick she could scarcely breathe. Her life for his... it was not an even trade, not by a long shot. He was a father, a husband and the beloved leader of a guild who needed him. Her eyes opened and she looked at Edward with an expression full of sorrow and guilt.

"Please, Bella," he whispered, stroking the tears from her cheeks as they fell. "This isn't your fault. He knew that I couldn't be without you. He knew that to lose you would be to lose us both. Please," he begged. "No one blames you. No one at all."

In response, Bella scooted over in the bed. At first, Edward's heart clenched, thinking that she was folding in on herself, but then he realized she was only making room for him. She implored him with her eyes to lay with her. It was a wide, comfortable bed and he looked so tired. She just wanted to hold him because she knew the toll losing his father must have taken on him.

Edward didn't hesitate. He'd long ago kicked off his boots and wore only a simple cloth shirt and pants. He lay in bed, quickly gathering her close to him so that every inch of her body was touching part of his. With Bella finally awake and safe in his arms, he finally let himself feel the events of the day. He buried his face against her neck and it wasn't even a minute later that she felt hot tears against her skin.

They cried themselves to the point of exhaustion. It was, for Edward especially, cathartic. He knew that the next few weeks, his grief would be powerful, but it would not be crippling with Bella at his side. He pulled away from her slightly, letting his grief turn into joy at being able to hold her again.

Because he knew that his father had given him a gift that not many ever got. She should have died that morning, leaving him entirely alone until he found a way to join her. He would never take a single one of Bella's breaths for granted. He kissed her reverently then, starting with feather brushes at her forehead and working his way down to her lips. Then he kissed her slowly until they both fell asleep.

~0~

Sometime after Edward and Bella fell asleep, the door to their suite opened, and a figure stood in the doorway. He was only alone for a few minutes before he was joined by a second figure.

Marcus looked his niece over. Though her eyes were red from crying she held herself straight and tall. She unconsciously rubbed her hand – sore from where she hit her wicked step-mother.

Her lips quirked up slightly when she saw her son and Bella tangled in each other's arms, finally sleeping peacefully. The ache in her heart lessened infinitesimally.

"Would that you could see what I see, my dear," Marcus murmured, his voice monotone as ever. "The ties that bind them are strong and vibrant. The brightest and most unbreakable I've seen since…" he trailed off, and Esme didn't need him to finish.

Even after all these years, Marcus could not say his wife's name. Didyme had refused to make the journey to immortality with Marcus. What she didn't know was that it was too late for him. He had already done what he needed to ensure his longevity. After Didyme died, Marcus had no choice but to live. That was when he'd lost his luster for life – when his voice became as dead and flat as a wilted flower.

There was no doubt in Marcus' mind that Carlisle had saved his son's life with his actions. "I do regret, though, that things went as they did."

Esme's lips tightened to a thin, hard line.

"Aro has offered a place in our burial grounds for Carlisle, and a hero's funeral," Marcus said plainly.

Esme scoffed. "As soon as Bella is well enough to travel, I'm taking him home where he belongs. Where he is truly loved."

Marcus nodded, expecting as much. "We have among us now a couple of very skilled druids. They are opening a portal that will lead you only a few miles outside of Forkshire," he intoned. "It will be ready by daybreak."

For the first time, Esme turned to look at her uncle, surprised by his words. If he'd had any emotion left in him he would have offered her a kind smile. Instead he said, "We are not all heartless creatures. Carlisle was a good man, and your Bella seems like a strong woman. Neither one deserved to be sacrificed. All things considered, though, I am glad that your father is not getting what he wanted."

Esme pursed her lips, considering his words. "Won't you come with us, Uncle?" she asked softly. "If you don't agree with him, why do you serve him?"

"I've my own daughter to consider," Marcus responded after a moment. "My gift is useful to Aro. He knows that my feelings have changed since we followed Jane and Alec to immortality, but he also knows I will not put Chelsea in danger."

He cleared his throat then and seemed to stand a bit taller. "Sleep if you can. I will have two carriages ready for you at dawn."

"Thank you, Uncle," Esme said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it to show her sincerity. He only nodded in response, but squeezed back with the lightest of pressures.

~0~

The town was just coming alive for the day when the two carriages pulled into Forkshire.

Leading was the funeral carriage. The back of the carriage was ornate – a glass covered carriage bed lined with ornately carved wood, painted black. Carlisle's body rested peacefully atop of silk cushions. In the raised driver's platform, Esme was tucked between Alice and Jasper. Occasional tears leaked from the the corners of her eyes but she held herself tall and proud as they entered the city.

Behind them was a plainer, but very comfortable, carriage. Laurent and Irina rode up front while Edward, Bella and Angela, who had been collected from the farmhouse in the nearby town, rode in the covered cab. Edward pushed aside the curtain so he could see what was going on.

Of course, news of Carlisle's death hadn't had time to reach Forkshire, so the townspeople reacted with horror and surprise when they saw the funeral carriage. From the window, Edward saw Jessica and Lauren look up, and their hands go to their mouths. He saw a few of the Knights ride up beside their carriage, and heard them inquire after Bella and Angela. Irina responded that they were well, and the Knights rode forward, offering Esme and Alice their sincere condolences before they rode off to tell Sir Charles the news.

As they made their way through Forkshire much of the town fell into step beside and behind the carriages on the way to the Guildhall. They were almost there when Edward tightened his arm around Bella. "Your father is riding alongside us," he murmured into her hair. He looked across to Angela. "Your father, as well, and Ben," he said kindly.

Bella tried to straighten up, eager to see her father again, but she was still very weak. "Shh, we'll be there in just a few minutes," Edward murmured to her.

As they got into view of the Cullen House, Edward heard his eldest brother's thoughts clearly. Someone had ridden ahead to tell him the news. Now he, Rosalie, Eleazar and the rest of the guild all waited in the courtyard. Their faces were all painted with grief, some, like Rosalie, crying openly. Emmett's thoughts were a mixture of guilt that he hadn't been there, and utter anguish that his father was dead. He seemed to be keeping that inside, though, as Rosalie was leaning on him.

Edward found some measure of relief that his eldest brother seemed to be almost back to normal, though he saw in Emmett's frustrated thoughts that he still tired easily.

Jasper brought the carriage to a stop near the steps to the Guildhall. He climbed down first, grasping Emmett's hand briefly in sorrow, before turning to help Esme down from the carriage. Emmett pulled his mother to him instantly, wrapping her in his strong arms. Esme's tears began in earnest then as her eldest child held her.

In the next carriage, Father Webber pulled open the door and Angela was in his arms in the next instant. Out of respect to the grieving family and guild, they kept their joyous reunion silent, merely clinging to each other. Then, somewhat reluctantly, Father Webber released his daughter to Sir Ben's arms.

Sir Charles stepped up to the carriage door as soon as Angela was clear of it. He peered inside, his anxious eyes finding his daughter leaning heavily on Edward. When Bella didn't speak he looked up at Edward for an explanation. Edward murmured that she couldn't speak and she was weak but she would be fine. Accepting that, Charles lifted Bella into his arms, cradling her like she was a small child again. She wrapped her arms around his neck as tightly as she was able, tears flowing freely.

"Sir Charles," a quiet voice interrupted them a minute later. Charles and Bella both looked up to see Seth Clearwater, his eyes watery, looking at them. "They're ready to take Carlisle inside. Will you help carry him?"

Charles looked from his daughter to Seth, knowing that Bella couldn't yet walk on her own. Edward had joined the rest of his family by the funeral carriage, though his ever watchful eyes darted over to them frequently.

"I'll hold her," Seth said. Then he looked at Bella, "If it's alright with you."

Charles appraised the young boy. He was tall and broad, obviously very strong. More than strong enough to carry Bella, though his daughter looked so unbearably frail at the moment that Charles was loathe to let her leave his arms. However, the look Bella gave him was pleading, her eyes full of sorrow. Charles knew that she would want to help if she could.

For Bella, Charles nodded, shifting her into Seth's capable arms.

Because Emmett still suffered periods of muscle fatigue and weakness, he would not chance carrying his father inside. Instead, he and Alice stood on either side of their mother. Edward and Eleazar stood on either side of Carlisle's head. Sir Charles and Jasper stood in the middle. Tanya and Katrina quietly took their places at his feet. The six carried their fallen leader inside. Behind them were Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, Alice and Seth carrying Bella. The rest of the guild and a few of the knights filed into the Cullen House in a line.

Once Carlisle's body had been settled in the dining hall, Esme requested that everyone vacate the area to give her family a little time to grieve alone.

Bella was surprised when Edward came and retrieved her from Seth's arms. She looked at him, her eyes full of questions. He kissed her forehead in response. "You're part of this family. You must know that by now."

How could they look at her though? Carlisle had given his life for hers. She doubted any of them, Edward aside, would have made that choice.

"Bella!" Emmett greeted her, seeing her for the first time since the carriages had pulled up. The look on his face brightened considerably. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there," he said, pulling Bella out of Edward's arms so he could hug her. Bella hugged him back fiercely, trying to convey how sorry she was in that one embrace.

"Carefully!" Edward admonished his brother when Bella hissed in pain. "She has a number of broken ribs."

As Jasper and Alice dragged a chaise into the dining room, Emmett settled Bella down on it as gently as if he was handing the most delicate glass vase. Bella squeezed his hand, noting that even that small gesture took a great deal of energy. She was already exhausted though she'd awaken only a couple of hours previous. Edward came to sit beside her, putting his arm around her again.

"What happened?" Rosalie asked finally. She was standing at Carlisle's side, looking down at him and occasionally wiping away tears.

Together, the family told the story of the past two weeks and several days. From Angela's accounts, what Edward had gleaned from the minds around him and Alice's visions, they were able to fill in Bella's parts of the story, looking to her for confirmation as they did.

James and Jane had been the only ones who knew exactly what had happened. Jane had hired James, and paid him an exorbitant amount of money, with the intention that he not only retrieve Bella but also to set her up. All he needed was to get Bella to attack him.

Of course, Bella had been a lot smarter and a lot tougher than James had anticipated. Wanting her as panicked as possible, he'd let her believe he intended to rape her at the earliest opportunity, keeping her constantly on edge. Then, when they were safely in Volterra, he'd sent Victoria away on an errand. He'd sparked Bella's anger by implying Angela's death, and then he'd made sure she saw where he left the dagger before he attacked her.

Edward had read in his thoughts that, while he had not been close to death, Bella had hurt him a lot worse than he'd ever expected. He was quite incapacitated and had only kept his right arm because Carlisle had gotten to him in time. Not that it had mattered in the long run.

Aro had pinned all of his wife's scheming on James and had sentenced him to death almost immediately following the incident in the courtyard. Because James had kept her ignorant, Victoria's life was spared, though she was imprisoned for withholding evidence that would have exonerated Bella. As she was being led away by Demetri, she screamed that she would have her revenge.

"And Felix?" Emmett prompted. His normally jovial tone was harsh and his fists were clenched.

Edward grimaced, gritting his teeth as a white hot rage came over him.

It was Jasper who answered. "Aro spun the story that Felix expected his _dear _nephew and niece would act rashly in the face of Bella's execution. Rather than draw it out, he said that Felix tried to get it over with quickly so they would not have to put Edward and Alice to death as well. Since she was already sentenced and Felix would have been her executioner, Aro said it was not a murder. However, as a precaution, both Aro and Jane left with Felix last night. They said they were taking him away until they were sure his mind was clear of any malevolent thinking."

Emmett all but leaped to his feet. "That's not good enough," he seethed.

"It's not," Edward agreed. He had argued that from the beginning. Bella guessed that was the source of the angry buzzing she'd heard as she was trying to wake up.

"You said they're separated from their army... perhaps now is the time to strike. If we could find them-"

Emmett was cut off by Esme's sharp cry. "No!" At the same time, Bella tugged anxiously at Edward's hand.

Edward looked at Bella. "After what Felix did to you..."

But Bella shook her head, her eyes wide and fierce.

"She's right," Esme said, her tone final. "Think it through, both of you."

"Killing Aro and Felix will only incite a war between us," Alice said calmly. She hadn't spoken much since the previous day. Her thoughts were usually quiet, and Edward knew she was taking their father's death hard, wondering if she could have prevented it.

"Our guild is strong," Emmett said.

"Not strong enough," Jasper snapped. "If we are, it's only just. The cost would be too great and Aro's influence is still strong throughout the countryside that even if we did win, we would be sacrificing not only good, innocent people, but our credibility as well."

"Listen to him," Rosalie implored her husband, gripping his arm and trying to get him to sit down again.

Esme eyed both of her sons with a serious expression and then looked at her fallen husband. "Do you think your father gave his life so that you could give your lives avenging him?"

At that both Edward and Emmett backed down nearly instantly. Emmett sat down hard beside Rosalie and Edward turned his face into Bella's hair, taking deep, calming breaths of her light scent.

Satisfied that no one was going to take off on a fool's errand, Esme sat back in her chair.

"I should have been there," Emmett said sorrowfully at the same time Alice said, "I didn't see it..."

"No, now is the time for all of you to put away your guilt," Esme said firmly. "I won't have you playing a game of 'what if.' The only way to ensure that nothing bad happens in your life is not to live it. It wasn't anyone's fault. Do you understand?"

Bella couldn't fathom how Esme was doing this - holding them all up when she should have been incoherent with grief. But the older woman waited until each of them, Bella included, had acknowledged their words. Whether or not they believed it, they would not repeat it again.

After that Esme suggested they all have a moment alone with Carlisle, if they so chose. She gave Edward and Bella the option of going first because she could see Bella was close to exhaustion.

"I'll talk to your father, dear," she said kindly, squeezing Bella's hand. "I'm sure he'll understand that we can care for you here for a few days."

Bella nodded appreciatively, a light blush coloring her cheeks. In all honesty she wanted nothing more than to let Edward curl her into his arms.

The rest of the family left, allowing Edward and Bella to say their private goodbyes. Not surprisingly, Edward was more than able to speak for both of them, though Bella echoed him in her thoughts.

He told his father he was sorry. Sorry he was dead. Sorry that it had ended this way. Sorry that they had all lost him before they were ready - though he doubted they could have ever been ready.

He told his father thank you. Thank you for Bella, and thank you for the precious gift of life.

He promised that he would not waste this second chance. He would live his life to the fullest. He admitted that part of him still wanted to take the blame for everything - if only he'd left Bella alone way back when Alice had had her first vision...

But he said that he saw now. He realized that, many years ago, Esme and Carlisle had much the same same choice. They chose life. They chose love. They chose their three biological children and their three adopted children...and neither of them regretted it for a single day. Not even now. Edward knew well that when Carlisle made his choice, he'd done it without a shred of regret.

Bella held Carlisle's unnaturally cold hand, fervently hoping that he knew. Though she couldn't say the words out loud, they were in her heart. She promised she would love his family forever and take care of them to the best of her ability.

She promised that she'd work every day to be worth his sacrifice.

Edward kissed his father's forehead a final time before he pulled Bella up into his arms. They exited the dining room to find most the guild, and many of the townspeople, milling in the downstairs room. Edward found Sir Charles, letting Bella give him a kiss on the cheek before he took her upstairs to his room.

Bella's eyes were already drooping when he set her on the bed, but she was awake enough to make one final request. She moved her hands to the buttons of his shirt, unbuttoning them with clumsy fingers.

At first, Edward was confused about what she wanted. Surely she wasn't up for...

But no. Now that they were finally alone, safe in this room that they would one day share for good, she wanted to feel all of him. He caught up with her thinking quickly and helped her undress him before his tender hands undressed her. Then he gathered her close, skin to skin. "I love you," he whispered to her as she drifted off.

It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

~0~

Over the next few days, as Carlisle's body laid in repose in the dinning hall of the Cullen House, the entire town must have passed through the doors of the Guildhall. His loss had struck every person in some way; Carlisle Cullen was more beloved than the royal family of Forkshire.

With so many people to take care of her, Bella got stronger quickly. The day of Carlisle's funeral she was talking in whispers and walking on her own two feet. Edward was always right next to her and when she needed to lean on him, she did.

They stayed at the feast celebrating Carlisle's life only long enough to eat their fill - something Edward insisted on because he knew Bella needed the food to regain her strength. Then they retreated upstairs to his room. As had become their custom over the last few days, they undressed each other. This time, Bella whispered that she loved him as she reached between them to find his length.

Edward gasped, shocked, and looked into her eyes, ready to protest that he didn't want to hurt her. She was ready for his argument. "You won't hurt me," she whispered as she stroked him. "Just go slow."

He stroked her cheek, able to deny her nothing even if he'd wanted to - and he most certainly didn't want to deny her this.

So he brought his mouth to hers, gently nudging her lips open with his. He found a comfortable position so that he could ease himself inside her while making sure not to add any pressure to her ribs. It was a shallow position, but they were in no rush. They just wanted to to feel each other again.

They made love slowly, simply enjoying the way their bodies were connected. They moved against each other wordlessly, letting their bodies and lips communicate for them.

To Edward, it was fitting. There was no time he felt more blissfully alive than when he held his girl in his arms and lost himself inside of her. He had buried his father today. Now he was fulfilling Carlisle's dying wish - for him to live.

He was alive and in love. Though his heart ached for his father, he was also blissfully happy.

They were free from the weight of Alice's vision, so he no longer counted time like sand through an hourglass, finite and rapidly running out. His father had given him not only a second chance at life but a second chance to correct mistakes he'd made.

The very next morning, he corrected the mistake he regretted the most.

He went to Eleazar and asked him to extend an invitation to Bella to join the guild.

Eleazar smiled patiently. "I'm glad you came to your own conclusions, finally," the older man told Edward. "I would have done it anyway, but it makes my job easier not to have to fight you on it."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You are the leader of the guild now, Eleazar. I will follow your command, you know that.

Sighing, Eleazar stood and clapped Edward on the shoulder. "Of course, I know that, Edward. With most things I would have no doubt. That girl of yours though... You know you will have to trust her to protect herself. You will endanger your guildmates and yourself if you're constantly looking out for her on the battlefield."

Edward frowned, shuddering at the thought of Bella fighting the battles he had in his short career. Then he sighed. "I will learn to deal with it. You have my word on that."

~0~

The months after Bella's rescue and Carlisle's death were trying. The guild struggled to reorient itself, stumbling through the loss of their leader. But Eleazar was more than competent, if a little less charismatic, and they soon fell into a new routine.

As promised, Eleazar visited Bella barely a week after Carlisle's funeral. He apologized for keeping her gift a secret.

"I understand," Bella assured him, sitting at her father's table. "Edward was trying to protect me. It's taken a while, but I understand his plan. He was right, in a way. I would have been too eager to rush into the magic. I'm glad that he had Jasper teach me self-defense first, for what little good it did me," she frowned.

Eleazar chuckled. "You are very like Edward, you know. A good match, I would say. He too expects far too much from himself. You had only been working with Jasper for a short time, and James was a very experienced fighter. From what I understand, you did admirably, my dear. Further than that, you demonstrated a level head under pressure and you were most certainly very brave - keeping your friend as safe as you could.

"And that's why I'm here. Isabella, you would be a great asset to our guild. I am extending you an open invitation. When you are ready, you have a place among our ranks," he promised.

He left shortly thereafter, letting Bella think. When Edward came around he surprised her by giving his full and complete support.

"You belong in my world, Bella. I can see that now. You are stronger than I ever could be, and I would be a fool not to want you by my side, always. Join us," he entreated. He picked up her hand, pressing his lips to her knuckles. "Join me."

Bella smiled and flipped her hand so that she could clasp his. "Equals?" she asked.

Edward smiled back. "As it was meant to be."

"Then," Bella began slowly, a mischievous smile on her face, "I will join you and your band of miscreants...if..."

Edward's eyebrows shot up, wondering what she was playing at. "If?"

Her eyes became impossibly tender. "If you'll marry me."

For one, two, three seconds, Edward was sure he had heard wrong. She'd wanted time...before.

But then again, it was a whole new world now.

His answering smile was dazzling, and then he threw back his head as he laughed. He pulled her forward then, into his arms. "Isabella Swan, everything I have, everything I am, is yours. Of course I will marry you," he murmured before he kissed her.

When they were both breathless and grinning like children, she smiled and put her head against his chest. "As it was meant to be," she echoed.

And so it was.

**A/N: Epilogue next. Probably before the week is out.**

Thank you to josieswan for beta work.


	15. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Interestingly enough, I STILL don't own these characters. Hehe.**

The Next Summer  
  
Edward paused outside the door to the command room taking a deep breath. Typically, guild members were only called here when they were sent out on assignment or they were taking part in planning a mission. Edward wasn't sure what to think. He hoped to the Gods he wasn't being sent somewhere. He didn't think Eleazar would do such a thing as it was the day before his wedding, but if there was a particular need...

Shaking that thought away, Edward opened the door.

Eleazar stood over the long table in the center of the room pouring over maps and conferring with a few others. Edward cleared his throat to announce his arrival.

"Ah," Eleazar smiled as he looked up, "Edward, good. Have a seat, my boy." He looked around at the others in the room, "Can we have a moment?"

As they filed out, Edward sat, trying to resist the urge to fidget. The longer that Eleazar went without speaking, the more Edward's anxiety grew.

Finally, the other man looked up, a kind, almost wistful, expression on his face. "Edward, I am an old man," he began.

"Oh, I'd say you have a fair amount of decades left in you," Edward replied easily, unsure of where Eleazar was going with this.

The other man chuckled, and then his face turned serious. "Yes, well…I am old enough to know a thing or two. Here's what I know, Edward. The guild has not been the same since your father's death. There's just a quality I lack, a charisma, I suppose," he mused. Then he looked up, his face grave. "I… I was never meant to lead this guild, Edward. That was never what Carlisle or I intended."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, not sure what to make of this turn in the conversation. "What are you saying?"

Eleazar stood and began to pace. "Carlisle and I spoke at great length of what would happen to this guild when he was ready to retire, as it were…or in the event of his death. It was not an easy decision for him. This job… the pressures are tremendous, and the consequences of leading poorly mean life or death to the people you lead."

Still confused, Edward simply waited quietly.

The older man sighed and looked at him. "It was Carlisle's wish that when he stepped aside as leader, you would take over that role."

A bolt of pure shock hit Edward like lightening to his spine. "What?"

"You must know your own strengths. You are a brilliant strategist and a natural leader. I've seen it over and over again myself – the way you utilize each member of your party to full advantage," Eleazar explained easily.

For long moments, Edward said nothing. His heart was pounding fast in his chest. Nerves had pushed his heart up to his throat, but beneath all that there was a deep sense of pride. He knew his father had depended on him and trusted him. He knew that there was a reason he'd always had more responsibilities than most of the others in the guild. It was not nepotism – something anyone in the guild could see as Carlisle's eldest child, Emmett, had never had those same responsibilities. Edward had earned his place.

But still. There was a huge gap between being a group leader and being the head of a guild.

Edward swallowed thickly, forcing himself to calm down so he could speak. "Why now? If this is what he wanted, and I assume what you wanted, why didn't you tell me immediately? My father has been dead for over a year."

Eleazar smiled softly – the smile of a man that was much more Edward's honorary Uncle than his leader. "There were many reasons. You are still a very young man, Edward. I know it was your father's wish that you be spared the burden of his responsibilities for many years to come. Fate, it would seem, has had different plans. I've tried my best to prolong the time you had, but therein lay the crux of my problem. As much as I would like to give you time, I have more people to think about than just you.

"And, along that line, I also needed to be sure you were ready. Before you met your beautiful bride I wouldn't have hesitated. But after?" Eleazar smiled ruefully. "You know – no matter how many times it happened, your father never got used to sending his children out into danger. It will never be easy for you to order your brothers and sisters out on missions that could very well cost them their lives. You will have to send your wife into dangerous situations time and time again. I needed to know that you could be a leader first, and a husband and brother second."

The two men regarded each other, a serious and somber mood settling over the both of them as Edward forced himself to think the way his father had been forced to. He imagined having to decide who was on the front lines of battle based solely on skills and the optimal situation.

Over the last year, Edward had fought beside Bella several times. As a newer member of the guild, she had yet to be on the front lines of any battle, but she was a strong and clever fighter. Her mastery of the spells Eleazar taught her grew every day. It would not be long before, as a strategist, he would want her involved in the more complicated, dangerous assignments.

He knew that she could take care of herself. That knowledge had not made it easier on him – seeing her in battle.

But life, Edward knew, was not easy.

"If this is what my father wanted, and this is what you believe is the best… it would be my honor to serve," he said finally.

Eleazar didn't respond right away. He was staring into Edward's eyes, assessing. Obviously satisfied by what he saw there, he nodded. "Good. That's settled then. We'll talk about the best way to make the transition smoothly when you return from your honeymoon.

"Speaking of which," Eleazar said and his look became soft again. He sighed. "Days like today it seems like the greatest injustice that your father was taken before his time. You don't know how I sometimes wish, if someone had to be sacrificed, that it was me and not him. Having to miss your wedding, Edward… I know how he worried about you. Would that he had lived to see this day."

"Would that he had lived to see many days he didn't," Edward said quietly. He thought of his father often, of course, and his heart ached. He would imagine Carlisle's smile at milestones – as when Bella joined their ranks, when they finally let their family in on their engagement, and several months ago when Emmett and Rosalie's first child was born. Carlisle's namesake had his eyes and, so far, his grandfather's quiet demeanor. "Though I doubt he would have wanted you to wish you could take his place."

"Well, he will have to forgive me this once," Eleazar replied. "Carlisle isn't here, so I will speak for him.

"No father could have been prouder of his child than Carlisle was of you. You are a good man, Edward-among the best I have had the honor and privilege of knowing – just like your father. I know you will love and cherish your wife throughout the rest of your lives – the way your father loved your mother, and I love my Carmen."

"Always," Edward vowed.

Eleazar nodded and stood. Edward followed suit. "For your father, and from my own heart, I wish you and Bella all the happiness in the world." He smiled a small smile. "I only wish that I could give you more time to be only her husband, and not her leader."

Edward clasped the older man's hand, expressing his thanks. "That I will be able to call her my wife at all is a gift my father gave me. I am thankful for what I have. I am young, but I know well enough that fate will not let us dictate all of our own future."

Eleazar put his other hand over Edward's and shook it. "But we will control what we can." He released Edward's hand and clapped him on the back. "Now, enough seriousness for the time being. Go on. You have very little bachelorhood left, and I'm sure your brothers want your attention."

"Thank you, Eleazar. For everything," Edward said sincerely.

A few minutes later, Edward found himself out in the courtyard. It was a beautiful summer day and the whole town was bustling with activity. The courtyard of the Cullen guildhall was scattered with practice skirmishes. He looked over everything with new eyes, knowing in a matter of weeks they would all be his responsibility. From the guild's oldest member, Eleazar - who'd been his senior since before he could remember - to the newest recruit, Seth. The boy was barely seventeen but he was already a capable fighter. Still, he was just a boy.

Edward almost laughed at himself. At twenty-three he was hardly more than a boy himself. He knew he was young to lead, but he also knew that he'd had the best example. Carlisle had been younger than he was now when he'd started this guild.

He was startled out of his deep thoughts when a bright, hot - but painless - burning sensation passed over his skin. It took a moment for him to recognize that someone had cast a fire shield on him. Smiling now, he turned, finding Bella standing off the path a ways. She grinned at him. "I like that spell. It's helpful to more than just me," she said cheerfully.

"Shields are very useful," he agreed, loping over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

When Eleazar had offered Bella a spot with the guild she had, of course, accepted. She'd taken just a few weeks to get the bakery up and running again, and had given it over to Angela as a wedding gift. After that she had thrown herself headlong into training. Eleazar had been ecstatic to find a magical talent as strong as hers. She mastered more of her chosen element - fire - with each week.

All of that and she hadn't neglected her hand to hand combat either. Edward chuckled to himself. Bella was not yet twenty and she was a formidable fighter indeed.

"You passed right by me without seeing me," she said softly, kissing his chin. "What's wrong?"

Edward hesitated. "Nothing to worry about, my love. We'll talk about it later," he promised. Then a wide, gentle smile tugged at the edges of his lips and he squeezed her. "There's not much that could be wrong. Not when tomorrow is so close. Finally."

"Finally," she laughed, grinning back. Her eyes became tender and seemed to light up brighter than the fires she could conjure.

The warmth she exuded rushed through his body, drawing him to her. Edward leaned down, kissing her reverently. "Will you come away with me, just for a little while?" he breathed against her ear, suddenly desperate to get her alone.

She gave a small whimper and smiled ruefully at him. "Alas, good Sir," she said in a formal tone, "Someone went and retrieved my mother from far off lands so she could attend my wedding. I promised to spend the afternoon with her." She kissed him long on his pouting lips. "But if you ask me again tomorrow, where you go I will follow."

"Poetic," he murmured, kissing her again... too persuasive for her own good.

Eventually though, he let her go. She promised she would be back in the evening to spend a little time with his family before returning home to her father's house for the last time.

~0~

As it turned out, Eleazar was right about Edward's brothers wanting to take him out for the evening.

"Oh, what's the point of that? I can't get up to any bachelor-type activities with two married, old farts," Edward quipped. In all honesty he was perfectly content where he was. They were in the common room – just the family. Bella had been reclining in his arms but as soon as she'd wandered off to retrieve something, Emmett had jumped at the chance to get him out of the house.

"You can dig in your heels all you want," Jasper said lazily, lounging as he was in one of the larger chairs. "If we have to, we'll drag your sorry behind to the pub."

He might have said more than that but suddenly Jasper found himself falling backwards, his chair toppled. He rolled instinctively and jumped to his feet, looking around.

His eyes found Bella with her hands on her hips. "Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, tell me you're not trying to get my fiancé drunk. He has somewhere to be tomorrow."

Emmett chucked from across the room. "Maybe we should take _her_ out tonight, Jasper."

Bella glared at her brother-in-law-to-be. "You're lucky you're holding Mab, Emmett," she said threateningly, nodding toward the baby that was sleeping peacefully on Emmett's chest.

Smirking, Esme carefully lifted the sleeping baby out of Emmett's arms and into her own. She hardly ever let the child go, and was only too happy to remove her grandson from harm's way. She winked at Bella.

Emmett grumbled. "I see whose side you're on. Nice, Ma."

"What?" Esme said, smiling good-naturedly. "I remember the night before Alice and Jasper's wedding. The three of you sounded like braying donkeys. The only reason you weren't still fall down drunk the next day was because of Rosalie's elixir."

"Oh, let them go," Rosalie said, waving her hand dismissively. "I have a new batch that will ward off the hangover." She smiled at her husband wickedly. "Of course, I can't be held responsible for the side effects."

"Rose," Alice hissed, getting an unpleasant vision. It appeared the side effect of Rosalie's elixir affected a man's staying power as it were. Edward shuddered involuntarily. It was an unfortunate side effect of his gift that he occasionally saw more of his brothers and sisters – and parents for that matter – than he ever would have wanted to.

"Don't worry," Rosalie soothed, looking at Bella. "I'll give Edward the right one. Wouldn't want to impede on your wedding night, Bella."

Rosalie and Bella had been on much better terms over the last year. Bella blushed at the other woman's suggestive tone but didn't comment.

"And what did I do? Why are you punishing me?" Alice whined.

"Fine!" Rosalie grumbled, but she was smiling.

"Oh, Bella! Are you sure we can't kidnap you tonight?" Alice asked, putting on a signature devastated expression for Bella's benefit.

Bella, it seemed, was growing resistant to her soon-to-be-sister's manipulative charm. "I promised my father I would be home, one last time. Then he'll be alone in the house again and I'll be here."

~0~

Dawn, the next day, couldn't come early enough for Edward. He was all but bouncing out of his skin waiting for the early afternoon ceremony.

It would not be exactly like the vision Alice had seen at her wedding, but it was close enough. The important part to Edward was that by the end of the day today, Bella would be his wife.

His mother came to retrieve him shortly after daybreak. She made sure he ate something and then turned him over to the capable hands of his brothers. If they couldn't entertain him, at least they could distract him.

And they did. Edward had to go to his mother and sheepishly beg her to mend a minor rip in his dress tunic - the result in the inevitable tussle they'd gotten into. Esme had grumbled something about boys being boys even though they were all grown and wed - almost.

Finally - _finally_ - afternoon came.

The King, more than happy to do a favor for Carlisle's son, had eagerly offered up the use of his gardens and the palace courtyard for the wedding. It was not traditional, as Alice and Emmett's had been. Rather, Bella had favored a ceremony that was more common in the fields she'd grown up around. She preferred the symbolism of equality, as her father did not give her away to her husband. Rather, they would both walk to meet each other.

So, with the flowers of the summer lending a sweet scent to the air and an almost surreal beauty to the day, Edward waited impatiently for his bride to come into view.

When she did, his breath caught in his throat.

She was dressed, as he had once seen her in Alice's visions, in soft colors - the skirt of her dress made of light yellow, blue, and misty green. She wore a delicate circlet of flowers on her head with a light, gauzy veil coming off it. Her cream and roses skin was flawless. She was flawless.

To a small band of reed flutes and a rather talented lute player, they walked toward each other, neither knowing how they managed to keep a steady pace. They met in the middle where a priestess waited and directed them to kneel across from one another. Gladly, they obeyed.

The priestess spoke of unity and of the family and friends that had gathered, connected by Edward and Bella's union. She spoke about walking beside each other in life. She spoke about how love was fated, but marriages - like any relationship - were to be treasured and attended to like the beautiful gardens that surrounded them.

When she was done speaking she took a long cloth. It was meant to symbolize their paths joining, binding them together physically as they were bound at the soul level.

"My life," Edward said softly as the priestess draped one end of the cloth lightly over his wrist.

"My life," Bella echoed as the priestess repeated the motion.

They clasped hands, arms crossed at the wrist so that there was a tangle of fingers between them. The priestess lightly bound their hands together. "Our life," they vowed, each grinning in that glowing way two people promising themselves to each other were prone too. Their eyes were alight with the strength of their love and the hope of the future that lay stretched before them.

They stood, still connected, and kissed passionately. Bella was a little disgruntled that she could not throw her arms around Edward. Their family and friends laughed indulgently - or whistled in Emmett's case - and cheered. They parted, slightly breathless, and turned to greet the gathered crowd - and the rest of their lives - together.

**The. End.**

A/N: So uh. Wow. Just. Wow.

This was my very first Twilight fanfic. I never meant it to take this long but...crimeny, what a journey. 

**Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through months and months of writers block. Thank you to CellaCullen who argued like crazy when she found out I was planning on killing Carlisle. **

**Thank you to josieswan who beta'ed. **

**Thank you for taking this ride with me. Mwah. **


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